Darkness and Light
by SoulShdw
Summary: Tale that revolves around Seras and the Hellsing Institution over a Century after the defeat of Incognito.
1. Prologue

Darkness. It is merely a state that exists within the world. Void of all forms of light, darkness is the polar opposite of the light that comes and gives the life to this world. Does that mean that the darkness is wrong? That since it is the opposite of life-giving, that in fact it is life-taking? Does that mean those of the dark are also to be condemned as such?

            ~

            The sunlight floated through the cell bars weakly as the early morning wormed its way into the mind of the occupant of the prison cell. She meekly covered her eyes with her free arm to block out the light and slowly sat up. She looked around her surroundings and took in what was there. It was rather extravagant for a prison cell, large space, furnished with chairs and a table, even though it wasn't like she was allowed visitors. She smirked at that thought, thinking of the visitor that she did get regularly and wondered how her guards would react if they knew. A large red carpet covered the floor, with a circular blue throw rug in the center underneath the table. On a small shelf near her, she noticed a blue flower sitting in a vase, indifferent to the surroundings.

            She scoffed this all off as she swung her legs off of the bed, hearing the weights around her legs clink as they hit the floor. She let a grim smile out at that, realizing that the only real way that she was a prisoner was those irons. In short, Integra Wingates Hellsing found these surroundings most detestable indeed.

            She grabbed her glasses off of the table and stretched out, trying to dispel the remaining power that her blissful slumber had over her. She then took a moment to think of how everything could have gone so wrong. The instant freaks were the start of everything, and despite the actions of the Hellsing organization, they had caused much death, mayhem and destruction. Then came the battle Incognito at the London tower, orchestrated so that the Hellsing family would be stripped of all of its honor. As much as Integra hated to admit, it was a brilliant strategy. Now whoever was pulling Incognito's strings had free reign in the whole of England, she could not do much from behind bars. She still had two that she could issue orders to, but without intel, resources and manpower, there was only one thing she could have them do. _Seek and Destroy, she thought to herself._

            At least the war in general was not lost yet. She assumed that with the Hellsing institution crushed beyond limit, Maxwell and the Iscariots would be starting to take hold of England to expand their power influence. With Hellsing gone, nothing could stop the Vatican from interfering with the Protestant nation. Though it left a bitter taste in her mouth, one beyond human measure, she took that humiliation along with her confinement. The Queen had asked her to stand through the test of time, and Integra intended to do just that. Rebuilding the Hellsing family's power would take quite a bit of time, far more than Integra had left. 

            Suddenly, there was a loud rap at the door. Integra studied it for a moment and noticed that the wooden door still had not yet opened. Another knocked came, along with the voice of her guard. "Miss. Hellsing, you have a message."

            She stood up and trudged over to the door. "I'm awake, slide it under the door please." She said. She watched as a manila envelope slid through the lower crack of the door. She thanked the guard before picking it up and walking over and sitting at the table. She froze upon seeing the seal of her majesty on the cover. She paused before ripping it open and reading the contents. Her eyes went line to line as they followed the text written within the message. Upon finishing it, she could do nothing to hide her shock. She reread the message and began to shake uncontrollably. _I can't believe it. A small but sad grin covered her face, _He's not going to like this one bit…__

            ~

            Integra sat down at her table, a small cigar in her hand. She had yet to light it, for she was waiting for her visitor, someone who had been at the forefront as the lead hunter as her years as leader of the Hellsing Institution. Night had fallen and she had no doubt that he would be coming for her soon, to make that abominable offer yet again. He did not let her down as he entered her cell through the shadows. His red trench coat seemed to billow behind him as he entered and stood before his master. His black hair and red eyes set him apart from other men, and his height alone would make him look like the threat he was. His hands were covered in white gloves with pentagrams and archaic writing on them, always there and never dirty, no matter how bloody a fight got. He saw her brooding there and said nothing at first, but let a small smile cover his face. "Something troubling you my master?" He asked, his voice cutting into her train of thought.

            She looked at him and held up her cigar. "Give me a light Alucard." She watched his face turn to utter disgust. "Don't argue with me. I know you can do it, then we will talk about more important matters."

            Alucard shrugged with a chuckle and snapped his fingers. A small flame liter the end of the cigar and Integra smiled at his parlor trick. "I really don't understand you humans. You have such miniscule life-spans and you willingly shorten that for foolish chemicals and their effects."

            She waved him off and silenced the rant that he only did to get on her nerves from time to time. "Enough Alucard. We have more pressing matters than my bad habits." She paused as she looked at him, realizing that he was looking at her intently. "Don't even think about invading my mind servant, my thoughts are of no relevance to you."

            He smiled and bowed again, "Of course, my master."

            "I received an order today, from the Queen herself." Integra said gruffly, the cigar trailing through her fingers. She looked at Alucard and she saw his look of interest. "You know what the order was. It was the one that we were unable to perform during the last battle."

            He scoffed under his breath. "The young lady still thinks I'm a danger." He then chuckled at Integra's shocked expression and such a statement. "Well, I am older than you can imagine, my master."

            Integra decided to ignore his rudeness. "This presents a large problem you realize."

            He sighed in understanding. "How long?"

            Integra picked up on the tone in his voice. "You aren't afraid are you, oh pure blood vampire." She mocked slightly with a smile. He shot her a glare that caused her to remove her smile. She closed her eyes and leaned back. "The Queen has me imprisoned in here as a show for the public. I have assurances that she will release me in at least 2 years."

            "Oh, so I am free to roam until then?" He asked with a laugh. Integra shrugged as if to say, 'do what you want.' Alucard then kneeled and lowered his head. "What are your orders, my master."

            Integra seemed to ponder his question and reached a conclusion. "My orders for you have never changed servant. Search and Destroy."

            Alucard smiled as he thought of the fun he still had left to have. Finally he asked another question, "What of Seras Victoria?"

            The use of her name attracted Integra's attention. "Oh, so you're calling her by her name now? What happened to Policegirl?"

            He smiled and flashed his white fangs. "Jealous, my master?"

            Integra scoffed at that, turning her head away in disgust. "Of a blood-sucker? Not a chance. I feel pity for her if she truly has piqued your interest."

            Alucard smiled in response. "She proved herself during the last battle. She has also drank blood of her own will since then."

            Integra stared at him in awe. "So we have another pure blood running within the ranks of Hellsing now?" She asked, her cigar falling from her fingers.

            Alucard smiled again and stood. "Far more than a mere pure blood. During the battle, she also took in my blood. She is a true member of my race now." The statement hung in the air as Integra stared at him in horror. _Great god in heaven, there will be another monster like him? "Calm yourself, my master. She has a long way to go before she reaches my level of power."_

            Suddenly a smile cover the lips of the youngest surviving member of the noble Hellsing family. This caught Alucard off guard but he knew that he was to receive orders from the look his master was giving him. "Train her Alucard. Train her as hard as you can. I have no orders regarding Victoria, and if I have to effectively lose one of my trump cards, I sure as hell want the other able to compensate. You have two years my servant. Train her in addition to your normal orders."

            At first there was no response from the vampire, but eventually a small chuckle began. This grew to the point where it became a roaring laughter, fit for a madman. He bowed for the final time and said, "Understood master. I will turn her into a fitting executioner for the Hellsing Institution." He then stood up and turned. He looked over his shoulder and asked her. "Are you sure you don't want my blood?"

            This prickled an icy chill to travel down Integra's body. It was the question she always dreaded and her servant knew it. The temptation for the power of a vampire and eternal life were always strong, but with the fall of her family from the grace of the Queen, the temptation intensified tenfold. She closed her eyes tightly and yelled, "You have your orders! I will see you in two years, do not return before then!" She was breathing heavily as Alucard watched her with great amusement and interest.

            "You are strong, for a human. So be it, I merely wonder if your grandchildren will be as strong." He said as he walked into the shadows, laughing all the way in delight.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A New Breed of Hunter**

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that."

            A lone figure stands upon a building within the center of London. Below it, unbeknownst to all, was a cesspool. A cesspool of the undead. Inside the hand of the figure was a gooey green substance, that slipped between the fingers of the being. It toyed with it as the being watched the moonlight in what seemed like an odd sense of bliss. Then the expression changed when it looked down. The figure glared down at the building across the street, knowing full well what was inside. It grabbed its right wrist as two armored cars pulled up to the front of the building and said to itself, "Showtime."

            The men began to pile out of the backs of the two cars, dressed in dark green combat fatigues and wearing masks over their faces. The red and black shield of the Hellsing institution covered their hearts as their lined up outside the building. The commanding officer barked out the situation. "Listen up. We've got eight floors to cover, with an unknown of tangos inside. I want Pascally's defense formation, no two too far ahead of the next. Half of you go around the backside and enter from there. The tangos may be armed so I want everyone to exercise extreme caution. The idiots who don't, if the freaks don't get them, I will personally put a bullet in their heads. Is that understood?"

            The men all answered in unison, "Sir, yes sir!"

            The commanding officer nodded and then said, "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen." As the short prayer finished, the soldiers went inside in pairs, one after the other. The night vision goggles came down over their eyes as they swept from room to room. The men moved quickly and quietly, none making a sound as they passed the first floor. The leader held up his hand to halt everyone in their tracks as he spoke through the communications device. 

            "This is Whiskey 1. No tangos have yet been sighted. Repeat, no tangos as of yet." The man looked down and rubbed his gloved finger upon the ground, feeling the floor slick. He raised the finger to his eyes and frowned beneath the mask he wore. _Blood, its still fresh too._ "Teams 2 and 4 scout ahead. I want teams 7 and 8 to set up defensive positions around the stairs on this floor."

            "Affirmative Whiskey 1. Proceeding as ordered." Came the response through the com as the men fell into position. The leader took a deep breath as he motioned his teams forward. The approached kept quiet as the group made their way to the second floor and continued their sweep. The leader paused in front of a closed door and put his ear up to it. He frowned as he heard nothing._ This is wrong, its too quiet. They should've at least come at us by now. He motioned to the door and his team took up positions around it. He nodded to the man to his left as he leaned against the side wall next to the door. The man understood the command and kicked the door open, stepping inside quickly with his gun raised. His partner followed suit and entered as quickly as his predecessor. The leader motioned with his gun and the rest of the team followed into the room. He entered the room, gun raised and began scouting along with the rest of his team. _

            They had entered what seemed like a large ballroom. The building had been abandoned for many years and it easy to see the damage done to the room since then. Dust and darkness covered the room, with cobwebs everywhere. The man motioned for an advance and kept his gun raised, scanning both in front of him and the ceilings above him. Once they made it to the middle of the ballroom, the leader held up his hand in a signal to stop. "Command this is Whiskey 1. No sign of the tangos, request instructions."

            A small piece of radio traffic danced through his ears, "Roger that Whiskey 1, proceed with sweep. Whiskey 2's group should be approaching your position. Keep your eyes pealed."

            "Understood." Came the leader's voice. He was about to motion forward when one of his men began firing. The leader didn't bother to look to see who it was, he was more concerned by what his man was firing at. He looked ahead and to his left to see a pack of ghouls slowly approaching them. "All units, open fire!" He ordered. In an instant the 19 other men in the room obeyed and the ghouls were quickly torn to shreds. "Cease fire and maintain your positions. Teams 2 and 4, I want a report." He ordered through his radio. He only received static as his answer. _Damn it._  "Set up a defensive formation. We will continue on to where we lost touch with teams 2 and 4."

            "Roger that Lieutenant." Came the voice of his men in one voice. The team began advancing again cautiously. The leader was cursing his own stupidity when the voice of one of his men was heard. "Uh sir, I found teams 2 and 4….I think."

            "Explain soldier." The leader said as he walked to the front of the group. He then said in a state of stunned shock, "Oh." Before the group were the bodies of the scouting teams. It was a grotesque scene, limbs missing from men's bodies, heinous wounds coming from the neck, side and shoulders. One body was actually missing a quarter of his skull from the looks of it. In short, the team had found what was left of the scouting teams. The leader crossed himself as he felt his team turn away from the scene. "This wasn't done by ghouls. Ghouls aren't this strong, and it doesn't look like any of them was fed on."

            The man then felt… something. He spun his head around and looked up to see a figure holding on to the ceiling behind them with a sick smile. He quickly raised his gun and opened fire, not even issuing the order to his men. They understood it though and soon enough, the remainder of the squad joined him. The vampire merely laughed as it dodged the wave of fire. It dashed along the ceiling as if it wasn't running upside down and raised a submachine gun. The leader recognized it as such and gave an order to find cover. The vampire unleashed his own wave of hot lead as it ran and dropped to the ground in front of an unsuspected soldier. With no hesitation, the vampire grabbed the man's throat with his free hand and snapped the man's neck, and then began to use the body as a shield as it ran towards another soldier. The vampire noticed a duo of soldiers taking aim and tossed the dead soldier at them, knocking them over and he then forced his free hand through the chest of the soldier in front of him. The dead body slid to the ground and the vampire opened fire and another group of soldiers, wounding one in the shoulder and another in the leg. One soldier wasn't as lucky and took the bullet in the head, falling dead instantly. The enemy then laughed openly as he dashed behind some cover as bullets rained down on his position.

            With what seemed like no pause, the vampire rolled out from its hiding spot and unveiled a second machine gun. The vampire laughed like a mad man as he let loose a new barrage of fire, mowing down another four soldiers. The Lieutenant snarled as he dove out from his cover to fire at the creature. The bullet's missed the vampire though they did cause him to run away temporarily. The man grabbed his communicator and yelled "This is Whiskey 1, we are under attack. Heavy casualties, repeat heavy casualties. Where the hell is Whiskey 2?"

            "Understood Whiskey 1. We lost contact with Whiskey 2 while they were in combat with a detachment of ghouls. Recommend temporary retreat Whiskey 1."

            _That won't help us a damn bit. It's not like this prick is going to let us go. The man thought bitterly as he watched the vampire revealed itself again and began attacking. The nearest soldiers were killed by having their necks snapped and the vampire merely laughed in enjoyment as it dove behind another wall. _Damn it to hell._ "Sir, ghouls at seven o'clock!" Yelled the soldier next to him. The Lieutenant spun around to see another pack of ghouls approaching. _

            "Mow 'em down men!" He yelled as he unleashed a torrent of gunfire. The ghouls were hit by the remaining soldiers with little effort, which caused warning bells to go off in the leader's mind. _They were a diversion, where is the real target?_ The leader went to reload his gun when he realized he was out of ammunition for the weapon. He quickly pulled his sidearm out and released the safety. "Men, I want a roll call!" He yelled into his radio as he stood up and looked around the room. He was met only with silence and the man stood there confused then looked to the man who was next to him. His mouth dropped in disbelief as he saw the vampire standing there with his hand sticking through the soldier's chest. A sick grin was reflected upon that face, splotches of blood covering the pale skin and bright fangs. _You've got to be kidding me._

            The vampire laughed as the man brought his gun about to fire. Before the soldier could even get one shot off, he was disarmed by the vampire with what seemed little effort. The human couldn't even keep track of how fast the enemy had moved. He then felt something clasp his neck in a vise-like grip and felt himself being pulled off the ground. The stared in pain at the vampire in front of him, who in turn merely smiled at the tasty morsel in his hand. "Poor little human, all alone with no more friends to help him out." The creature mocked, the voice dripping with fake pity. The soldier gasped for air while the vampire continued to mock him, "So this is the big bad vampire hunter group Hellsing eh? I've heard about you guys, I have to admit I'm a little upset."

            The vampire brought its face closer to his prey and let out a sick laugh. "Now the real question is who I should kill you. Should I take your blood and turn you into a ghoul like I did for all those other souls," he asked, gesturing with his free hand to a group of ghouls on the other side of the room, "or should I just snap your neck and be done with it?" The vampire grabbed the man's left forearm and began to squeeze, causing the man to scream in pain as his arm was crushed. The vampire added with a small smile, "Though, it would be fun torturing you first for attacking me." The man cried out as he heard a sickening snap of his left arm

            The soldier said nothing, but began reaching for something on his back. The vampire ignored the motion as it seemed to deliberate as to how it should finish its prey off. _That's right, keep looking the other way you undead freak _the man thought as he grasped the small knife in his belt. The vampire then turned back to the human, his mind made up. "Looks like I'm going to have to start restacking my ranks because of you and your men. Welcome to the club, Mr. vampire hunter." He said with a sadistic voice. However, the man wasn't listening. Something had come into the room, he could tell. _Who is that? What is that?_ the man thought to himself as he snapped back to the present.

            The man's jovial, yet sick tone was broken by the sound of gunfire and the sounds of ghouls being destroyed. The vampire turned to see that his group of ghouls were being destroyed one by one. The vampire's gaze traveled around the room, trying to pick out the direction of the attacked and his mouth twisted into a snarl at his failure to locate his new enemy. 

            _Now! The soldier grabbed his knife with his right hand and withdrew it from the sheath on his belt. He slashed at the creature's head with all the remaining force he had left in his arm. The silver blade connected with the creatures face, but not deep enough as it only cut the vampire's face. The vampire released the grip on the soldier's neck in shock as the pain registered in his mind. The soldier took his first breath of air since he had been captured when the vampire screamed in pain. He reacted quickly and kicked the vampire in the chest with both of his legs. The vampire grunted as he dropped the human to the ground. The human rolled backwards and got into a defensive crouching position with the knife and just waited. __Come on you trash, I'll send you to hell myself!_

_            The vampire was not pleased with releasing his prey. "While you insignificant piece of waste. I'm going to tear your heart out!" He yelled as he began to dash towards the man. Two bullets stopped the vampire in its tracks, the holes from the shots stopping right in front of him. The vampire cursed and ran out of the room, avoiding gunfire as it dove into another room. _

            The soldier grit his teeth in pain as he fell onto his backside and began to breath heavily. His eyes were searching for his would-be savior. _Funny, I could've sworn that whoever it was, was up in the rafters behind the vampire. _His then dropped his knife and and grabbed his radio with his free hand, "Command, this is Whiskey 1. Come in command." He said, his voice making no attempt to hide his pain.

            "Whiskey 1 we hear you, what's the situation?"

            The man grit his teeth as he stared at his left forearm. "Bad command. The entire squad has been taken out. My arm is also busted up. I was the next to die until help arrived. Thanks for the reinforcements command." The man said as he watched the blood soak into his uniform.

            There was a long tense silence over the radio before an answer came, "Whiskey 1, there were no reinforcements. We have no clue what you're talking about. Report on the situation Whiskey 1." The man closed the radio connection and let out a painful laugh, _I guess my guardian angel carries a gun._

            The vampire had retreated back out of the ballroom. He had a sick grin plastered on his face. He was about 6 feet tall and leaned up against a wall as he reloaded his guns. He was pale and dressed in some baggy clothing, now covered with touches of crimson blood. A winter hat covered his head as he laughed silently to himself as a graved gleam went through his crimson pupils. _Human fools.__ I can't believe they would even try their luck against me. Oh well, more blood to spill. I'll have some fun with these wretches._

            "I'm afraid not." Came a soft but firm voice to his right. He pointed his gun as he turned his head to the right and saw… nothing. He looked at the empty space and scratched his head in confusion. _Am I hearing things? Must've been the wind or something. He thought to himself as he stared in front of him in confusion. "No, not the wind. Come now, whenever someone thinks it's the wind, it really is something. Don't you even know that you scum." It was the same voice, though now distinctly louder. The man turned and saw a figure standing in the shadows. Without thinking he raised the gun in his right hand and opened fire with the automatic._

            What happened couldn't been seen with normal eyes, but the figure moved one hand around lightning quick in front of her as the gun went off. Finally, after what seemed too long, the gun clicked empty and the vampire merely stared at the figure. Slowly the figure walked forward, still concealed in the shadows. Even the vampire had a hard time making out the face of the figure as it was concealed by something. The figure raised its arm out and let it catch the attention of the vampire. Without saying another word, the gloved hand opened and let fall to the ground the bullets that it had caught. The vampire dropped its gun in shock as the figure started towards him again. _No way. That's…too unreal. He thought as he took a step back in spite of himself. Finally he saw the figure's true form._

            It was a young woman with dark brown hair that went down to her shoulders. She was wearing a dark blue trench coat that went down past her waist and a pair of black pants. She wore white gloves on her hands, with strange archaic markings on the backsides of her hands. Her skin was pale and reflected the moonlight as if she was a ghost. One thing caught his attention, it was her eyes. He smiled in realization. "Sorry about that. I thought you one of those stupid human hunters. Sorry about that lady." He said jovially as he walked forward. He spoke as if he was talking to an old friend.

            The woman said nothing in response at first, but let out a small smile as she stepped forward, revealing a set of white teeth, with some particularly large canines. Her fangs gleamed in the moonlight coming in from the window and seemed to show her true nature. He walked towards her, taking in the beauty of the woman and thinking about how he could get into her pants when her right hand shot out and grabbed his throat. _What the hell!_ He thought as pain raced through his body as the woman's grip tightened around his throat. She then turned her head to the left and threw the vampire through the wall that was to the left of them. 

            The only survivor of the massacre lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling wondering how the hell he was still alive. His train of thought was broken as he watched something break through the wall across the room and bounce about twenty feet. He struggled to his feet and brought his knife about, silently hoping that he wouldn't have to fight that vampire again. He dropped the knife in shock when he saw the vampire struggle to his feet, grabbing his head as if he had the biggest hangover ever experienced. The soldier's eyes lit up with recognition again. _ …that presence again… What is that?_

            A figure came walking through the now destroyed wall slowly, as if in no hurry whatsoever. A blue trench coat trailed behind the figure, who now could be seen as a young woman, as she walked slowly up to where the vampire stood on his shaking legs. "Hey, what the hell is your problem lady?" The vampire yelled as he steadied himself. The woman merely stared at him in disdain as she sent an strong right cross into the unprepared vampire. The vampire flew back and hit the wall. "…Bloody Christ." The vampire said as he pulled himself from the wreckage. He wiped the blood from his lip and then licked his hand. "I don't know who you are girly, but that was not a smart thing to do." He stated as he began walking towards the woman.

            "A pathetic worm like you has no right to say that." The woman's voice came out. It was cold, but held behind it some sense of femininity. She waited and watched as the comment enraged the vampire into charging her. The woman merely scoffed at the feeble attack as she dodged it at the last moment and kicked out the knees of the vampire who then went tumbling along the ground. She slowly walked over to his body and kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying upwards and away, landing on some old tables. He coughed up some blood as he rose to his knees. As he saw the girl approaching him slowly, he dove through an open doorway and leaned up against the wall. _Damn bitch, that hurt like hell. He thought as he reloaded his remaining machine gun. He raised it to his face and waiting, listening for the approach of the woman._

            The woman stopped pursuing him for a moment and closed her eyes. "That won't help you," she said loudly as she reached into her coat and withdrew a large grey pistol, "trash can't hide." She closed her eyes as she raised the pistol. She fired once at the wall and then opened her eyes. She was met with the sound of the vampire screaming like a hysterical woman. The vampire stepped through the doorway, his left hand gone and missing. He was breathing hard and gripped his gun in his other hand. The woman merely reached back into her coat and when her hand came back, it was empty.

            The soldier merely watched in fascination as a crazed gleam seemed to cover the woman's red eyes, _wait a sec, red eyes?_ He watched as she charged like a demon, leaving no time for a counter attack. She grabbed the vampire and tore his right arm from its socket, causing a scream of pain unlike one the man had ever heard. It was a mixture of a scream and a growl, causing it to send shivers down his spine. The arm slowly turned to ash in the woman's hand and the ash dripped and fell through her fingers. The woman merely scoffed at the vampire in annoyance and tossed the body behind her, sending the body through another set of tables and chairs.

            The vampire grit his teeth together as he rose to his knees slowly, the woman waiting for him evidently. _Who the hell is this girl? Feels like a truck just hit me. He thought as he glared at the woman. She raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "Only a truck? I was too gentle." She remarked with a hint of amusement before reaching into her coat and withdrawing a rather large black gun. He pointed it directly at his head and let loose a small smile. _

            "Wait!" The vampire yelled out. The woman paused for a moment, but her grip in her gun did not waver as it was kept aimed right at the vampire's face. "You're one of us right? Come on, we aren't enemies. We could own this city with our power!" The vampire exclaimed, a fevered glow in his eyes. 

            "You expect me to let you live now? After I've taken your arm and hand?" She asked in disbelief. She then shook her head as if annoyed. "Low level trash like you needs to know when to shut up." She spit out the side of her mouth and steadied her aim again. "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen." 

            "Wait!" The vampire cried out again, trying to stop his execution. It did nothing to stop the woman as she pulled the trigger. The bullet impacted right between the vampire's eyes, and the last thing he ever saw was the smile on that woman's face before he disappeared into ash. The woman brought her hand back into her coat and when it re-emerged, the gun was missing. She turned around and looked back at the soldier.

            The man said nothing but fell backwards until he was laying flat on his back. He was still breathing hard, but now it was more from watching that fight, _could it really be called a fight? It was more like a slaughter, than from his earlier wound. He closed his eyes as his breathing slowed even more. He heard soft footsteps walking over to him but said nothing as he concentrated on his breathing._

            He was met with a light kick to the ribs which in a way actually hurt. "Oi, you still alive?" Came the woman's voice.

            He raised his right hand up with his thumb extended upwards. "I'm just lovely thank you. Just give me a minute, that bastard broke my arm." He then opened his eyes to look upon the woman who had destroyed the vampire. She had brown hair and was wearing a blue trench coat and black pants. He noticed the Hellsing emblem on his right chest area and let a small smile grace his features. He stared from the symbol to her red eyes and asked with a hint of amusement, "You my guardian angel?"

            She stared at him, lost as if she didn't understand at first then her face darkened into a scowl. Then she helped him to his feet, muttering something along the lines of "If Lord Hellsing wouldn't be upset about it, I would shoot you for asking something so idiotic."

            The man chuckled at the response and then pulled the mask off his face with his free hand. "Figures you wouldn't have a sense of humor." He said mildly as he felt his arm being draped around the woman. He stared at her in confusion but she wasn't looking at him. He shook his head and mumbled to himself, "So you really do exist." The woman said nothing as she helped the injured man out of the warzone. He reflected for a moment and then realized that the recovery teams would handle the dead bodies and let out a sigh of disbelief, _So__ I'm the only survivor. Great job Squad Leader, he thought to himself sarcastically._

            "That's right. You did a hell of a job." The woman added coldly, not looking at her ward. The man shot her a look of confusion and then shook his head in annoyance. He was about to ask her something but she cut him off, "My name is Seras Victoria. Now shut up and let's get you out of here." She said, taking one last look around the destroyed room. She let her mouth twist into a scowl when her eyes locked on where the remains of the vampire was, but then her lips twisted into a small smile. She looked back to her ward as she helped out, "Hell of a first day…"

            "Yeah, tell me about it." He said as he grit his teeth as his left arm rubbed up against a doorframe.

            "Could've went worse."

            "How?" He asked, an expression of disbelief on his face. Seras grinned, revealing a fang.

            "I could've had to kill you too." She said softly as she carried him out of the building towards the waiting Hellsing troops.

            "Gee thanks. Makes me feel a lot better."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Past and Present**

"No amount of study or learning will make a man a leader unless he has the natural qualities of one."

            In a damply lit office, a man leans back in his chair as he reviews the day's reports. He was an younger man, probably in his 20's or 30's with refined blonde hair. He was wearing a dark green business suit, his hands covered by white gloves that conformed to the shape of his hands. His hazel eyes shone through from behind his glasses as he scanned the report before him. A frown of annoyance covered his face as he tossed the report on his desk what seemed like disgust. 

            The man was so absorbed in his reading that he jumped when he heard a voice. "Up so late Lord Hellsing?" Came a somewhat amused voice. The man spun around in his chair to meet the speaker, his face contorted in annoyance.

            "Do you really need to scare the hell out of me every time you come in here Victoria?" He asked, placing the report down on his desk as he stared at the young woman. He then paused for a moment, realizing that, another person had come into the room. "How the hell did you get in here without me noticing anyways?" He asked, then he closed his eyes and grabbed his head in annoyance, as if realizing who he was talking to. "Wait, never mind. Don't answer that."

            Seras let out a small laugh and then sat on the desk of the man. "So what's keeping you here so late? I doubt that your doing this because you want to." She asked in amusement. She swung her legs back and forth as she awaited her answer, knowing full well that the other occupant was glaring at her in contempt.

            The man turned in his chair to look out his window and said nothing at first. He then stated, "The Vatican is moving." This caused Seras to raise an eyebrow, as if asking the man to go on. He sighed, knowing how she would react to a statement. "Its unknown what their purpose is, but it's a deployment of a number of their specialists. It seems they're being placed all around England and the rest of Eastern Europe."

            Victoria scoffed, "Those… 'boys' are no where near the level of Iscariots that were around when I was a fledgling."

            He turned to her and twisted his lips into a thin smile. "Does your pride as a true vampire force you to say that?" 

            "Watch your tone Lord Hellsing. We've been done this path before, I don't recommend restarting this argument." She said quickly, her voice ice cold as she glared at the man. 

            The man merely chuckled at her anger and let his smile fade afterwards. The man stood and walked over to the window and placed his hand on the window. "Regardless, it's a new development." He then paused for a moment. "What are your thoughts on this?"

            Seras chuckled to herself, _Oh Sir Integra, if you could see what your descendants have become. Asking one of those they are sworn to destroy how to act._ "So the great Lord William Hellsing asks a lowly bloodsucker for her opinion on how to deal with the Catholics?"

            The man shot her a glare and retorted, "Enough of the sarcasm Draculina."

            Seras laughed at the man's name for her and then smiled in amusement as she stared at the ceiling. "In all honesty, there's no harm from them being around. It might make our job easier. They may hate protestants but they won't attack normal humans."

            The man frowned and scratched his head. "I'm more concerned with them setting up a power base here in England. It could prove troublesome to our work if that takes place."

            Seras laughed at his concern. "Sir, they've had a power base in this country for over a hundred years. We've just never noticed it. I guarantee you its there already."

            The man scoffed at her confidence, "So you think they started setting a power base during Hellsing's…'off-time'?" He asked, looking back out the window, his hands interlocked behind his back.

            Seras shrugged again and picked up the file that the man was looking at before. She smiled in amusement as she changed the subject, "I see you were doing some research on me. You know, it would be faster just to ask me." She remarked as she looked through the report. She noticed the cringe of the leader of the Hellsing Institution but she said nothing other than toss a small smile his way, causing him to cringe yet again.

            The report contained two photographs on the front page, held on by a paper clip. The first was a current picture of Seras, standing over a fallen vampire with her pistol drawn. The blue trench coat was blowing in the wind behind her and a smile was plastered on Seras' face in the picture. "That's a good picture. I wonder how you got it." She remarked as she removed it from the file and placed it on the desk. The second picture was somewhat withered away and starting to fall apart. It was one of her before she had been turned. Seras laughed at the innocent expression in her younger self, her blue eyes and blond hair being the most prevalent features. She also found the D11 uniform particularly amusing, trying to think back to the first time she had worn those rags. Seras unconsciously grabbed some of her brown hair with her free hand and smiled to herself. She looked up from the report to Lord Hellsing and asked, "So did you find what you were looking for?"

            The man ignored the question and turned back to the window, his face betraying his annoyance. This caused the female vampire to laugh to herself as she placed the report down on the table. She continued to swing her legs in the air as she waited for an answer. Finally, after a long silence, Lord Hellsing asked, "I heard you participated in the infiltration earlier tonight." He tone was tired, and somewhat cold.

            Seras shrugged. "I was hunting in the area when I saw them go in. I figured I'd give them a hand since they had taken my targets."

            The man chuckled a small bit at her comment. His laugh was more of disdain and sarcasm than actual amusement though. "Search and Destroy eh?" He then turned to her, "How much trouble was it?"

            Seras looked at him with a expression of disbelief, "Come now Lord Hellsing, I would assume by now you would know I could take out scum of that level without even breaking a sweat." She jumped off of the desk and smoothed out the creases in her coat before walking over to the window to stare out it. "The idiot was thinking more about getting into my pants than defending himself against me, at least untill I threw him through a wall." The man laughed openly at her comment and allowed a smile to grace his features. Seras smiled as well, turning around from the window and walking over to the desk to look at the pictures of her.

            Her smile faded as something came to mind. The young Lieutenant who had led the charge into the building had sensed the vampire. He had sensed her too, but Seras doubted he even realized what he had done. "Who was that survivor of the infiltration unit that attacked?" She asked, her voice betraying her curiosity.

            "Why do you want to know?" The man countered. He tone reeked of suspicion and caution. She shrugged and began walking away.

            "No particular reason. I have a hunch about him. Its not really all that important." She was about to leave when she heard the man behind her shuffling through papers.

            "Lieutenant Thomas Griphten. He's a relatively new squad leader, recently promoted. Apparently the sole survivor of tonight's raid as well, how lucky is he?" The man looked up to see the woman looking over her shoulder. "What's so special about him that you'd want to know about him?" He asked.

            Seras smiled, "I think he's cute." She said in an amused voice. She saw the man's face turning red and began to laugh openly. "Just kidding, just kidding. The boy has raised my curiosity." She said coldly, as if forming a plan in her head.

            The man's face changed from red to a point where it seemed like shadows were covering his whole face. "I won't let you turn him into a blood sucker if that's what your asking."

            Seras Victoria's expression dropped when she heard those words. She let out a sarcastic laugh and replied in jest, "Let? I'm sorry but you seemed to have forgotten that you really can't stop me." She remarked, as if amused by the man's words. She blinked for a moment then took a deep breath."Fear not Lord Hellsing, I have no need for a servant vampire."

            The man looked at her in a mixture of anger and disbelief, "So you feel more than willing to turn on your master at any point?" He asked.

            Seras looked at the man with a cold expression, "Hate to break this to you Lord Hellsing, but you aren't my master. I have no master. I get paid like everyone other soldier that works for you." She said slowly and calmly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to recompose herself. She opened her eyes and let out a small smile. "Don't worry about it, I don't plan on turning him. I'm just thinking he might have a gift." She then turned around and began to leave.

            "Where are you going?" Lord Hellsing demanded, his anger gone and more shocked than anything else.

            "Hunting. Go home and see your daughter sir." She said as she disappeared into the shadows. The man watched her vanish and shook his head as he sat back down at his desk. He reached for a picture that sat framed on his desk. He smiled as he looked at it and placed his hand over the frame gently. Inside was a picture of himself and a small girl, probably around the age of four or five years old with a large smile on her face. _Maybe the blood sucker girl is right._ The man replaced his picture on his desk and then walked out of the room, a small smile on his face.

~

"We do not know the true value of our moments until they have undergone the test of memory."

            Seras relaxed upon the top of Hellsing manor, contemplating the events of that night. Her legs swung out over the edge of the roof of the illustrious manor, dangling freely in the wind. _So division thirteen is moving.__ The Iscariots wouldn't dare invade our territory without a specific cause. The Hellsing Institution may be the weakest its been in one hundred and thirty years but we've never really been forced into a true confrontation with them over territory._ She let out a loud sigh as she stared at the full moon, taking a moment to bask in the beauty of it. _Then again, my second real mission with Alucard became a battle over territory. She shuddered at the memory of multiple holy blades stabbed through her throat and chest. Unconsciously she gently rubbed her neck; she could still tell where the blade had slid through her throat._

            She took that moment to also reflect on the current standing of the Hellsing Institution. The current leader was an arrogant and pompous man, not really capable of the title he carried. He had been forced to take it at too young an age it seemed, and unlike the earlier leaders of Hellsing, he had not been prepared for it. In fact he didn't even know that vampires existed until he met Victoria. Apparently that had been a rude awakening to the boy, as well as the vampire herself. Seras laughed to remembering the first time she had shown the boy what a vampire could do. She was later told by his caretakers that the boy had nightmares for several weeks as a result.

            Quite frankly, Seras detested the current leadership of Hellsing. The man seemed more concerned with matters of politics constantly than the actual disposal of non-humans. The man also distrusted her, which is to be understood considering where Seras' loyalty lay. She openly told the man on many occasions that she only obeyed his orders when she felt like it. _He's nothing like Sir Integra, more like a spoiled brat than anything else. He will break if he ever has to deal with a situation like Sir Integra had to when the Hellsing Manor was attacked by the Valentine brothers. He just doesn't have the fortitude to run the Hellsing institution the way it needs to be run. Seras let out a loud sigh as the wind picked up and rustled her hair. She spoke out loud to herself, not really caring if anyone was actually there to hear her even though she knew the roof was vacant. "Master Alucard, what would you think of the Hellsing Institution now?" At the thought of her former master, her mind went drifting back. One hundred and thirty years ago to that fateful night._

            _Alucard stood on top of the majestic clock tower with his companion and stared down at the city. "Seras, you know what tomorrow night is and what will happen, don't you?"_

_            Seras merely nodded, her blond hair being tossed by the cold wind. "Sir Integra is going to be released from confinement." She responded, staring down at the city that was lit up in the night._

_            Alucard nodded then added. "She has orders to seal me as soon as she returns to Hellsing Manor."_

_            Seras looked to Alucard, "Master?" She asked, not sure if she had heard him correctly. A worried expression crossed her face._

_            "Seras, I'm not your master anymore. When you drank my blood, the bond of master and servant was broken. You know that. You are now a true member of my blood kin." He said with a hint of amusement and smile on his face._

_            Seras nodded and turned back to the city. "I still accept you as my master. I have nothing but respect for you Alucard."_

_            Alucard laughed at the praise he was receiving from his former ward. "Well, the reason I have been training you these last two years was in preparation for what was to come." He stated, taking his yellow sunglasses off. His red eyes still glared down at the city of _London___, almost with a hint of amusement. He turned his head to Seras and said, "You are now the trump card of the Hellsing organization."_

_            Seras didn't know how to respond to that statement so she remained silent, brooding over the concept. Alucard merely chuckled at her silence and continued. "The institution is going to be very weak for a long time. For now Seras, I entrust the safety of the Hellsing family to you."_

_            Seras turned her head to her master, "Is that your wish master?"_

_            He turned to face her and locked his gaze with hers. There was a long silence as the cold wind continued to blow around them. "Consider it as a request. Do me this favor Seras _Victoria___."_

_            Seras smiled at the elder vampire and closed her eyes and kneeled on one knee before the vampire. She bowed and lowered her head as she said, "I understand my master. I will assist the Hellsing family as long as it is necessary."_

            Seras snapped out of her memories as that last moment remained in her mind. She smiled at the last memory she had of her master. She reached into her coat and withdrew two rather large handguns. She smiled with pride as she stared at the Cassul and Jackal, the twin pistols that her master had used in his services to the Hellsing family. She grinned as she reloaded the two guns from earlier that night and replaced the two guns in her coat as she stood up. "Well that's enough reminiscing for one night, and the night is still young" She said aloud as she vanished into the darkness. All that remained to ever prove that someone was there were a few scuff marks from a pair of boots.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: A New Task**

"There are two sorts of curiosity -- the momentary and the permanent. The momentary is concerned with the odd appearance on the surface of things. The permanent is attracted by the amazing and consecutive life that flows on beneath the surface of things."

            Seras yawned as she walked towards her room in the underground barracks of the Hellsing Manor. She had her coat tossed up and hanging off of her shoulder as she slowly walked down the hallway, knowing full well than no one down here was awake yet. Without the coat, you could see she wore a black sweater that ended right below where her pants began. She covered another yawn as she thought about getting a watch then realized that it would be pointless for her. She paused outside her own room to think about how nice it must be to watch a sunset, after all she hadn't seen one for quite some time. A small smile covered her face when she remembered something that Alucard had mentioned to her about sunlight.

            _"It won't kill you like all those folk legends say. However, I fucking hate it."_

_            She suppressed a chuckle upon remembering the expression the elder vampire had used when he had said that. She was broken out of her reverie when she noticed somebody was watching her. "What is it?" She asked without turning around, her voice tired and sounding quite annoyed._

            Whoever it was seemed to be scared as she said that; she could hear someone take a step back. From the sound of it, it was a male's footstep too. She looked over her shoulder to see the survivor from the night before staring at her with a confused expression that was partially mixed with fear. Seras didn't pay attention last night but now she took the time to study his appearance. He was about 6 feet tall with a black haired crew cut. His eyes were green and he had a small degree of stubble surrounding his face. He was wearing the default uniform, the green combat fatigue, only the arm on the left side was missing. This was probably due to the rather large cast that covered the man's forearm. 

            The man flinched under the vampire's observation so Seras asked again. "Well, what is it?"

            The man scratched the back of his head in confusion, as if unsure of how to phrase what he was going to say. Finally he just took a deep breath and said, "Thanks for last night." He gave a lopsided smile as he said it, giving the man a rather goofy appearance.

            Seras turned around and leaned against her door. "Your welcome, Lieutenant Griphten. Try to make sure not to screw up again, I might not be there to save your backside next time." She said, letting her expression go neutral. The man paled at her comment and looked away in embarrassment. _Is this guy really capable?_

            Finally he realized something and looked up. "How'd you know my name?" He asked, genuinely confused. 

            Seras lied and pointed to the bar on his uniform that bore his family name. "I saw your rank last night, your name this morning." She said, her expression softening. The man's eyes glazed over in understanding and he looked back to her.

            "Well thank you Miss Victoria." He said again.

            Seras shrugged, feeling the wave of exhaustion bearing down on her. She decided to ignore it for the time being. _Its been a long time since I've had conversation other than with the Hellsing family. _ "So what are you doing awake so early Lieutenant?" She asked, a small smile set on her face.

            He shrugged. "I can't go on any training missions for sometime due to my injury so I figured I would fall back into my habit of running in the morning." She seemed to nod in understanding as he looked the woman over. "What are you doing up?"

            She sighed, "I just got back from hunting. I'm going to sleep." The man seemed to pale as she said this, as if he just remembered what she was. She turned to go into her room when she paused. "That was a good move by the way."

            "Huh?" The praise seemed to confuse the young soldier, not really knowing what the woman was talking about.

            "Your move with that hidden knife last night. Wounded and outnumbered you were still willing to fight that freak." She said, still not looking at him.

            The man scratched his head at the odd compliment, "Well, I used to be a member of the London police. I think that was mostly desperation though. When I think about it, it seems pretty stupid. There's no way I could've defended myself if he attacked me again."

            Seras turned around and gave a small laugh at the man's comment. "I used to be in D11." She stated casually. The man's eyes flickered up.

            "D11? Wow, when was that?"

            Seras shrugged. "Let's put it this way, I'm old enough to be more than your grandmother."

            The man tilted his head, as if examining the woman. Seras said nothing, merely watched as the young man looked her from both sides and her front. He sighed, "You don't look older than twenty." He remarked with a hint of amusement. His eyebrow lifted up slightly and he asked, his voice dripping with curiosity, "How old are you?"

            Seras laughed openly and turned around. "Don't you know its rude to ask a lady her age?"

            "Whatever." He said, leaning against the far wall while talking to her. _I would never believe it if I wasn't in Hellsing. She looks totally normal, and anyone seeing her would see her as a normal young woman._

            Seras looked over her shoulder and locked eyes with the soldier. He gulped as he stared into those crimson windows and felt as if she was looking directly into his soul. Her gaze was unnerving to say the least. "You sensed him didn't you?" The tone of her voice had dropped from the playful and tired banter she had been used before to a very serious and cold demeanor.

            "What?" The question threw the soldier for a loop. He didn't really know what she was talking about anymore.

            "Nevermind. Good night Lieutenant." She said as she walked into her room and closed the door. The Lieutenant merely stared at the closed door in confusion then continued on his run. Behind the door, Seras chuckled to herself at the realization. _He doesn't even realize it yet. Then again, he might have just been lucky. I'll need to run a few tests on him. It would be…useful if he does turn out to have abilities._ That was the last thought Seras had before she collapsed into her coffin-like bed and went to sleep.

~

            "You want me to do what?" Seras asked in disbelief. She raised her eyebrow at the leader of Hellsing as she repeated her question, a shocked look covering her face. The man sighed. He tossed a manila folder towards her, then rotated in his chair to face away from the woman. Seras frowned at the cold treatment and bent over to pick up the folder. She opened it up and scanned the contents inside. 

            The first piece of information was a photograph of an old building, run down and abandoned from the looks of it. As Seras began to read through the file, the man at the desk began to speak. "Earlier tonight we monitored radio traffic within the London police regarding this location. Our intelligence believed this place to be home to a small group of freaks. The intel believes that they have been hiding since they have been turned, only committing small crimes in order to get by. It is doubtful even if they have created any ghouls yet."

            Seras looked up from the folder. "So what? If they haven't had any blood yet, they are going to be insanely week. A normal infiltration team could take them out, why me?"

            The man turned in his chair to face her, his face stone cold. "Earlier tonight, the group abducted a family and issued ransom demands. Part of which is, what I have been told, could be a month's worth of medical blood." Seras frowned at this but said nothing. The man looked her in the eyes and said, "The London police have already acted and has sent in D11."

            Seras cursed under her breath. _Damn fools, they know to call us when a situation like this occurs. D11 overstepped their boundaries again._ "So, has the first team been annihilated yet?" She asked coldly. The man blinked at her response, expecting something more than that.

            "They lost contact with the team they sent in. That was approximately forty five minutes ago. The deadline for the ransom is for two more hours."

            Seras tossed the folder back on the desk. "So send in a team. The police know to call us in situations like this. Somebody deserves to have their ass chewed out for trying to play hero."

            The man nodded in agreement and reached for a cigar from its case. He light it and swiveled in his chair. There was a long silence until Lord Hellsing said, "Victoria, I want you to take a team there. Diffuse the situation."

            Seras glared at the man as he ignored her. _Why send me? You have human commanders you could get to do this. _Sensing that she would not win this fight, Seras sighed in defeat. "Get the paperwork ready. I want all authority in this case to be transferred to Hellsing immediately. I'll also need a team of seven men, at least five veterans." 

            Lord Hellsing nodded in response to the requests. "Consider it done. I can have a team ready for you in ten minutes."

            Seras nodded and then let out a small grin. "Have Lieutenant Griphten accompany the team. He will act as the command center."

            The man looked at her for the first time since doling out the assignment. "Why? He's injured, its not like he can be of any use." He paused then asked another question, "Besides that, its not like you to ask for a team for assistance. I'm sure you can take them out on your own."

            Seras shook her head as if scolding a child. "It'll be less suspicious if there is a team to assist. Besides, intel has been known to be wrong from time to time. I will not engage them if there are no non-humans inside." She glared at the leader of Hellsing. "I will clean up their mess if it's the work of freaks, not if they just screwed up."

            "But it won't be suspicious to bring an injured man?" The man asked, putting out his cigar in a small tray on his desk. He paused for a moment then asked, "Does this have to do with why you wanted to know who he was?"

            Seras nodded as she left the room. As she vanished into the darkness he heard her say, "If I'm right about him, he should be placed in Division S."

            Lord Hellsing blinked at her comment. _Division S? Why would a man like him, who got his whole team killed and himself injured on his first mission as squad leader be placed in that elite group?_ Division S was a section of Hellsing that only a few knew about. Basically, promising soldiers were taken from their normal groups, either due to having certain attributes that aided in hunting vampires on a more intense scale than normal, or if they seemed to possess certain abilities. Division S was set up by one of the earlier leaders of Hellsing in order to compensate for a low number of men. To say the least, these men could compare with division thirteen of the Vatican's special forces, the Iscariot order. 

            He then shook his head to clear the confused thoughts running through his head in order to deal with the task at hand. He pushed a button on his desk, "Christopher, prepare a small infiltration team. Seven men, have them report outside Hellsing manor. Have Lieutenant Griphten accompany them as well. Prepare one of our vehicles as well."

            A deep voice came through the other end, "Of course, Lord Hellsing." Lord Hellsing deactivated the intercom switch and clasped his hands together. _We should not be dealing with such trivial matters, I'll need to speak again with _the commissioner in order to prevent this sort of thing from happening again._ He paused for a moment then smiled, _I'm surprised she didn't tear my head off. I can't say I don't feel sorry for those freaks that she is going to kill though.__

            ~

            The situation inside the Hellsing armored van was tense. The soldiers all sat in silence, their weapons draped across their laps. The masks were already up over their faces and they all had one thing on their minds. And that was the young woman sitting in silence in the back of the van with her eyes closed. Most of them knew who she was, and were downright terrified of her. The fact that she seemed pissed didn't help matters as even those who did not know of her were afraid to ask the veterans who she was. After a short drive, a voice called into the back. "Miss Victoria, we've arrived."

            Seras opened her eyes and looked over the small group. She spoke, her voice level and cold. "Listen up. Here is the situation, an unknown number of freaks are holding a family hostage, which until we know otherwise we will assume are still human and alive. You will follow my orders in this infiltration." One man looked as if he was about to say something but Seras cut him off with a dirty look. "Not up to deliberation. If you don't like it, take it up with Lord Hellsing." She paused for a moment, watching the man pale and back off. "Lieutenant Griphten!"

            "Yes sir." Came the voice of the man sitting in the front seat next to the driver.

            "You don't have to call me sir. You will act as our command line." She then turned back to the rest of the group. "All of you are to stay within site of each other. You will enter from the front entrance and proceed from there. Coordinate your moments with the Lieutenant. Is that understood?" She asked in a commanding voice.

            "Yes sir!" Came seven voices in unison.

            Seras  grabbed her head in annoyance and continued, "I will come in from the roof. Wait until I give the order before starting your infiltration."

            "Understood."

            Seras opened the back door of the van and jumped out. She was met by the usual chaos of police officers and reporters, trying to ascertain who the new arrivals were. One reporter stuck a microphone in Seras' face who she prompted pushed to the ground with one hand. She grabbed the collar of one of the policemen and said loudly over the noise, "Take me to who's in charge." She then pointed to the crest on her coat and the man nodded in understanding.

            "This way please." The man yelled through the noise, leading a way through the reporters and policemen. Seras motioned to her men and had them follow as well. Seras frowned at the scene. A line of policemen were holding the crowd of reporters and curious onlookers back. She grabbed her head in annoyance and thought _who is the idiot who let this go public?_

            The group from Hellsing was brought to a command tent set up in between two armored vans. The policeman walked over and talked to a man who was dressed in thick Kevlar armor and had a machine slung across his chest. Seras recognized the uniform of D11 and the bars on the man's shoulder denoted his rank as captain. The captain looked at the policeman as if he were speaking another language then turned to Seras. Seras nodded once and led her men towards the tent. The man wearing body armor looked at Seras in disbelief and said, "You're from Hellsing?" He asked, his voice sounded as if he had just been insulted.

            Seras nodded once, "Affirmative. As of now, this operation falls under the juristdiction of the Hellsing institution. You will remain on site to assist, but as of now all authority has been transferred to the Hellsing institution."

            The man looked shocked. "Preposterous. That is the craziest thing I've ever heard. Who do you think you are?"

            Seras glared the man down and asked in response, "And were you the one who ignored the order that all cases of this nature fall into our jurisdiction?" The man spit off to the side and said nothing as he crossed his arms and glared at Seras. "Because of your pride, some of your men are now dead, or worse."

            "Why you little…" The man said, his fists clenching into fists. Seras said nothing at this. "I don't need to hear that from someone who could pass for my daughter."

            Seras let out a sick grin as she reached into her pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. "If you don't like it, take it up with her majesty." She said as she pushed the paper containing the seal of the Queen into his chest and knocked him to the ground. She began to walk past him but stopped and added, "And just for your information, I'm older than you are." She then continued straight into the command post. Her men followed shortly after, leaving the captain sitting on the ground in shock.

            The command post was in a frenzy with men waiting on stand by to try and storm in. Seras watched them as she walked in, knowing full well that they would not take kindly to Hellsing's authority, much like the man outside. Two men were dressed in suits and waiting by a phone that had been set up on the table. One was smoking a cigarette and grabbing her head as if his head hurt. Seras looked over her shoulder and gestured to Griphten. "Lt. Griphten, I want you to set up the com-link a.s.a.p." She declared loud enough to grab everyone's attention.

            "Understood." Came the man's voice as he walked past the other soldiers towards an empty table. 

            Seras turned back to the tent and declared loudly, "This operation is now under the jurisdiction of the Hellsing organization. We are now in charge." She noticed that the captain had walked into the tent and she looked at him and spoke. "I need a set of blueprints for the building, as well as where you believe the hostages and hostiles are."

            The man glared at her in silence but slowly nodded and said, "Consider it done." He left in order to get the blueprints and Seras turned back to her men. "I want you to prepare. Wait for my signal before the infiltration. I want you working with Lt. Griphten to coordinate your penetration." She then grabbed one of the policemen walking past her and she said to him, "Move those people back. I don't care if you have to beat them half to death, make sure they are at least fifty more meters away."

            The policeman saluted her and went outside to fulfill the order as the captain returned with the blueprints and handed them to Seras. "These are the blueprints. We believe…" Seras held up a hand to cut him off. She moved towards the table that Griphten was setting up at and laid the prints down on the table. Both men noticed this and approached the building plans. The captain began again, "We believe the hostages are being held in this floor here," He said, circling a room with a black marker. "There are no windows and it seems the mostly likely place to keep the hostages. Its on the second floor and towards the middle of the building."

            Seras nodded in understanding. She held out her hand for the marker and when the captain gave it to her she began to draw a series of lines with arrows. "Lt. Griphten, this is the path that our team is going to take. Call over the team leader and discuss it with him before you go in."

            "Affirmative."

            She then pulled out the other part of the blueprints. "I will enter this way,  and attack from here." She said, marking a room on the third floor.

            The captain of the police scratched his head, "Um…isn't that the third floor?"

            Seras nodded and let a small smile cross her face, "Yes, it is." When she saw the confused look on the man's face she merely chuckled to herself and said, "Trust me." She looked up and back towards the two men in suits and asked, gesturing with her thumb, "Who are the suits?"

            The man looked towards the men she was pointing at and shrugged. "Negotiators."

            Seras shook her head in annoyance. "Send them home. They aren't needed anymore."

            The man paled, "Wait, we may be able to negotiate a peaceful solution though."

            Seras glared at the man, "That might've worked before you sent a team of men into die." She said coldly, causing the man to glare back at her in disdain. She then continued, "That might've worked before Hellsing was called in to fix this problem." She then looked over her shoulder towards the men in suits then back to the captain. "Captain, our objectives differ from yours, you should understand that."

            His eye twitched as he asked, his voice angry and insulted. "What do you mean?"

            Seras stared him down and then turned to the Lt. "Lt. Griphten, make sure the men know that destruction of the tangos overshadow the safety of the hostages. Try to avoid harming non-combatants though." She said coldly.

            "Roger that Victoria." The Lieutenant turned away from the captain of D11 to finish what he was doing.

            "You can't be serious." The captain said as he stared at Seras in disbelief.

            "Captain, this is not up debate. This is the way we work. Either get on board or your going to be left behind." She held out her hand to Griphten and he handed her an earpiece without looking at her. She turned and walked away, leaving one man dumbfounded at her declaration and one to finish his job. 

            The captain began to follow her to speak to her once more but was stopped by Griphten. "Sir, I highly recommend you don't mess with her. I've heard she has quite a temper when pushed. She's been pissed off ever since Lord Hellsing gave her this job too."

            The captain shook his arm free from the man's grasp and said, "Brats are like that."

            Griphten smiled to himself and remarked quietly, "I shouldn't be telling you this but she's probably Hellsing's best operative."

            The captain turned to the man who had finished setting up the communications device and signaled for the team leader to come over to receive instructions. "That brat?" He spun to look at the retreating woman only to find that she had vanished. "Where'd she go?" He asked in confusion.

            The team leader that had come up behind Griphten chuckled and said, "Probably the roof." Griphten only nodded then began to explain the plan of attack to the man, leaving the captain standing there in a stunned silence.

            Seras waited on the roof, grabbing her right wrist as she waited for her men to get into position. She found herself thinking about how this had been similar to how she had joined Hellsing. D11 had been sent into without authorization and everyone in her unit except her had been attacked and turned into ghouls. _That crazy priest probably would've turned me if Alucard hadn't shown up. She grinned as she gently touched her neck, __that hurt, but not as much as the bullet. Then again, I might have already gone numb from pain of the bullet. She raised her hand to her right ear, to where the com-link resided. She usually didn't use these devices since she normally hunted alone. She wore them in cases like tonight, where Lord Hellsing requested her to aid an infiltration team in order to make sure that she could minimize casualties or for special situations. She hated having to shoot ghouls wearing the uniform of Hellsing._

            "Griphten, are we good to go?" She asked.

            A voice crackled in her ear. "Roger that Victoria. Bravo team is waiting for your signal."

            Seras grinned, "How many vampires are there Griphten?" She asked. Seras already knew the answer, but it was time to test her theory.

            "Unknown. We weren't supplied with that information." 

            Seras grabbed her head in annoyance, _Can he really sense them?_ "Give a guess Griphten. Concentrate and use your instincts."

            Griphten raised his eyebrow back at the tent at the odd request. _What is she talking about? He then leaned back and closed his eyes. He almost fell out of his chair when he felt something. __What was that? He wondered, looking around him. He unconsciously grabbed his cast and inhaled. He closed his eyes and focused again when he felt a dark presence, or rather, presences. _Three… no four, definitely four of those dark feelings._ "Four Victoria. I'm going with four. Who really knows though?"_

            Seras laughed loudly through the com-link. "There's hope for you yet Lieutenant." She paused for a moment to allow herself a momentary smile. "All units proceed as planned. Begin the operation. In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen." She said softly. She heard voices of confirmation in her earpiece as she began to walk towards the roof's staircase. 


	5. Chapter 4

Okay, Thanks to everyone for the feedback, just a few things to mention/questions to answer. 

Her hair color: Quite frankly, I did it without even realizing it. When I finally thought about it, I decided I liked the appearance of Seras' character that had shown up, and in my twisted mind, it makes sense. The Seras in this story is completely different from before, as you've probably picked up by now. This is a change that is obvious to see, while some of the others are also quite blatant, there are also some subtle changes that will probably be drawn out more. Will Alucard come back? Who knows? I have an general idea for this story's plot, basically right now it's a problem of connecting point a to b with a few stops over at c, d, and e in order to really complete the tale. Synopsis of the last 130 years? I will probably make mention to certain events from that time period, but I will not go into it in depth. It's likely that certain key events will be mentioned and later explained more fully. As for the new leader of Hellsing, well let's just say that I am not really satisfied with how chapter two came out. I will eventually go back and probably rewrite that section in order to give people a better feel of his character. 

Now on to the next chapter. I tried to do something particular for this chapter, but I don't like how it came out at all. This is another chapter that is probably going to be rewritten.

**Chapter 4: Unstoppable**

            "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

            "I still can't believe we're doing this." One of the seven people in the room said in disgust. He kicked a nearby chair into the wall, breaking the wooden piece of furniture apart.

            "Alex, calm down. You're scaring them." A woman with long red hair said. She wore a winter hat over her head, but the hair came down behind her towards her shoulders. She was wearing a blue jacket and a pair of jeans. She glared at her friend with her red eyes, as if challenging him to continue his rant. Her hand was pointing to the three figures in the corner of the room, as far away from the other four as possible.

            The vampire identified as Alex ignored the subtle warning in his friend's voice and turned towards the three hostages. The man and woman sat in the cornering, shuddering in fear. There arms were around their eight year old child in a feeble attempt to protect her from the four people that had abducted them. He took his baseball cap off and scratched his head before replacing it on his head with the lid facing backwards. "They should be afraid, after all, we are vampires." He said with a sickening grin. 

            "Stop that. I don't need to hear this again." Came another voice from the opposite corner. The other three vampires turned towards the man and quickly shut up. The man was leaning against the wall, a pair of black sunglasses covering his eyes. His arms were crossed and he was looking at the floor. He was wearing a red jacket and a pair of tan khaki pants. A gun was holstered at his side, providing the man with some degree of authority.

            The room went quiet at the man's order. The woman and man who had been fighting looked away from each other and silently cursed at each. The forth vampire who had been lying on the ground before this sat up and looked towards the one who had given the order. "Bro, what now?"

            The man lifted his gaze from the ground and looked to his brother. "Reiki, did you and Alex take care of those men who tried to come in." The younger man nodded and looked up to his brother. 

            "Alex fed on a few of them." He stated darkly, glaring at the other vampire.

            Alex scoffed at the statement, "Hey, we're vampires right. We were going to kill them anyway, why waste food?"

            The woman punched the wall in anger, "So you've already accepted this….state?" She yelled, turning on Alex.

            "Jen." The single word caused the woman to stop and stare at her leader. She looked down at the ground and backed away. The man sighed and looked up, "We need to get out of here."

            Alex looked at him as if he had grown another head, "Scott, what do you mean?"

            Reiki looked to his brother and said, "Bro, they had the uniforms of D11." The three vampires became uneasy when their leader cursed under his breath.

            "All the more reason. Don't you guys know police procedure for this situation. If they lost the first group, they're going to send in another and another and so forth. We can't win this." Scott stated as he looked over his friends.

            "Can't we just tell them to stop or we'll waste the hostages?" Jen asked hesitantly.

            The man known as Scott shook his head. "It'll prolong it, but they will still come." He pushed his glasses up and said sadly, "I don't want this to become a massacre." All four looked down at that statement, knowing full well what their leader meant. The silence was broken when the door to the room opened. All four vampires frowned and drew weapons. Alex and Reiki held machine guns taken from the infiltration team they had wiped out, Jen and Scott were holding pistols with one hand. All four pointed their guns at the doorway but paused when they saw what stood there.

            "Oh god that's gross." Jen said quickly as she turned away and covered her mouth with her free hand to keep from vomiting. Before them stood corpses, unmoving yet standing and…moaning?

            "…The hell?" Reiki asked, lowering his machine gun. Alex watched with a similar expression and was about to ask a question when Scott spoke.

            "This is why I didn't want to feed off of people." He said with what seemed like annoyance. The other three looked at him in confusion. He explained, "I remember reading some books about vampires back when I still was in school. Apparently, if a vampire feeds off of a virgin, that person can become a vampire too. However, if the person isn't a virgin, then the victim becomes a monster that follows the whims of the vampire." Scott scratched his head with the barrel of his pistol with an unsure expression. "I think it was something like that anyway." He turned to Alex and said, "Hey, tell them to do something."

            "Huh, why me?" Alex asked, quite confused.

            "You killed them." 

            Realization seemed to dawn on the vampire as he looked at the ghouls in disbelief. He stared at them in deliberation, as if unsure what to do. Finally he said, his voice somewhat amused, "Hop on one foot." Unbelievably, the ghouls began to do exactly that. Alex laughed in amusement, "Okay, okay stop. You," he said, pointing towards one of the ghouls, "do a handstand." He watched as the ghoul, although very slowly and clumsily, get into a handstand."

            Scott took his sunglasses off, revealing a pair of angry red eyes. "Alex, that's enough." Alex gulped and told the ghoul to stop and stood there, waiting for his boss to tell him what to do. "Have these things prevent anyone from entering the building, go with them to make sure they only attack police entering, not anyone with the goods. One ring means to leave them and escape to the roof."

            "I got it covered." He said, giving a small nod in assurance. He turned towards the ghouls and said, "We'll let's go you… whatever the hell you are." Alex closed the door behind him as he left.

            Jen shook her head in disbelief and said softly to herself, "Are we really…vampires?"

            Reiki finally lowered his weapon and laid back down on the ground. After what seemed like an eternity, he slammed his fist into the floor. "God damn it! That bastard tricked us!" He yelled, rage evident even to those who had no idea what these four had been talking about.

            "Reiki…" The redhead watched the young man bang the ground with his fists, his eyes still locked on the ceiling. She understood his anger, hell she agreed with him. _That bastard tricked us. None of us would have agreed if we had known what would become of us._

            "Reiki, act you age." Scott said coldly as he walked over to where his brother lay. Reiki sat up and shot him an evil glare but Scott's won out and Reiki remained silent. "We have no one to blame but ourselves for this situation."

            "How do you figure that Scott?" Jen asked, gritted her teeth at the man's accusation.

            Scott looked at her in disbelief. "The man promised us power didn't he? He didn't say how, just that he would make us powerful. We have the strength to tear a man apart with our bare hands. He fulfilled his end of the bargain; we were the ones who assumed too much." His cold and analytical tone shut both vampires up as he took his glasses off and placed them in his coat pocket. "When making a deal with the devil, be prepared to taste hell." The room was silent for a while, letting the profound statement sink in. Scott looked to Jen and said, "Make the call. Tell them to hurry up." Jen nodded in agreement and opened her cell phone to make the call.

            Seras stood at her assigned location and waited. She grabbed her head in slight pain lightly with her left had as she listened to the radio traffic in her ear. _I haven't had a headache for years, why now? _She had sensed the ghouls stirring and already reported it to the other team. She  stared at the ground as she sensed what was going on underneath. _Lord Hellsing said these freaks were new. Perhaps I should shake them up for information before terminating them. They haven't acted like the freaks we normally deal with._ She suddenly frowned at that thought and found herself disgusted with herself. _When did I become so cold?  She then broke away from that train of thought as she felt one of the freaks leave the room. She smiled as she positioned herself towards where she assumed the hostages would be. "Command, do you read me?"_

            "Yes Victoria, go ahead." Came a crackled voice through the com-line.

            "One of the freaks is accompanying the ghouls out. I'm assuming there are setting up a defense of some sort. Tell the infiltration unit to make sure that they anticipate gunfire. The ghouls were the members of D11 after all."

            "Understood. When will you make your move."

            Seras smiled to herself as she raised her hand. "Now." She said as she slammed her fist through the floor. She smiled as the hole was large enough for her to jump through and that's exactly what she did. She landed in the room beneath her in a crouch, luckily right in front of the hostages. She grinned over her shoulder to see that they were still human. She looked up and saw that three vampires were staring in shock at her. She smiled and closed her eyes in anticipation.

            Scott was startled by the entrance and immediately turned to face the new arrival. Something happened though, and for some reason the first thing came to mind were the words, "Reiki, Jen, get the hell out of here, now!" 

            Without questioning his orders in the slightest, both of them dashed away, one heading for the door that led to the hallway, the other towards another room. Seras smiled to herself as she willed some of her power outwards. _We can't have that now can we?_ Both vampires were held in place by some invisible force at first, then were thrown back towards the center of the room. They stood up and looked to each other in confusion and then stared at the woman as if expecting an answer. 

            Scott looked at the woman with great interest. _Who is this? _He thought mildly as he replaced his sunglasses and removed his pistol. Seeing his reaction, his two friends drew their weapons as well and pointed them towards Victoria. He held his hand up, holding them back from firing and walked over to the woman, his pistol pointed at her head. He then cocked an eyebrow upon noticing something. _How the hell can she smile in such a position? _"Who are you?"

            Seras opened her eyes and glared at the man, causing him to take a step back. "I don't need to give my name to someone who's going to die." She said, standing up. As she stood up she whispered to the hostages, "Hug the floor, or your going to die." The family seemed to understand as she stood up and walked around the man with sunglasses.

            Reiki and Jen merely watched as the woman circled their leader, not intimidated at all. Reiki felt his hands start to sweat and he gulped in a breath. He watched Scott meet her gaze and ask, "Oh, and you plan to kill us?"

            Seras merely nodded once then closed her eyes after stopped behind the man. "Hellsing operative, Seras Victoria. Trash removal division." She then narrowed her eyes at the younger man with the machine gun and added, "Lower the gun Sparky. I might let you live a little longer."

            Reiki felt himself about to yell at the woman when Jen beat him too it. "Hellsing? Never heard of it." Seras shot the redhead a glance that rivaled something of pity and amusement. Jen gulped and finally noticed her eyes, "Hey, you're…one of us too aren't you?"

            Seras laughed as she walked over to the girl and inspected her. Seras then locked gazes with the woman and let a sick smile cover her mouth. "I think not, you low-level trash.." The woman gulped and her eye twitched, causing Seras to let out another chuckle before moving on to the younger man. "Unlike you artificial freaks, I'm the real deal." She said as she looked him over. He was smaller than the other man and was nervously clutching a machine gun. She leaned over and whispered in the man's ear, "How was their blood? Was it tasty?"  She widened her eyes when she realized what she had just said, _Was_ blood ever tasty? Wait, why the hell am I even thinking about this?__

            Reiki's eyes widened exponentially and he dove backwards against the wall, shaking like a leaf in the wind. Scott frowned at this and grabbed the woman's shoulder from behind. "Stop that." He felt as if he had to step in for his little brother.

            Seras blinked once, _What_ the hell is wrong with me?_ She then smiled. "Ah, I had forgotten. None of you have drank blood yet have you?" She paused for a minute to think about it, "No, that's not true. The one out front controlling the ghouls must've had fed on them."_

            Scott narrowed his eyes and all three retrained their guns on the woman. "Who are you?" He demanded, his pistol unwavering from the back of her head.

            She smiled sweetly and grabbed his gun without saying anything. With a flick of her wrist, the weapon was ripped in half, the handle still in Scott's hand. She tossed the broken piece towards the family that was shivering on the ground and said with a cold voice, "Why I'm your angel of death. Can't you hear the bell's toll?" She shuddered after she said that, wondering where such words came from. _Sounds like some Alucard would say, where the hell did those words come from?_

            "Kill her." Scott ordered, taking a step back and discarding his weapon. His two friends obeyed immediately and filled the young woman's body with bullets. He watched as she collapsed to the floor, her body ridden with bullet holes. Blood seeped out from the corpse and spread across the floor. He heard the hostage woman scream but other than that ignored everything but the corpse.

            Reiki walked over and stepped over the body to stand next to his brother. "She went down easy, considering all that nonsense she was spouting out earlier." Jen nodded in agreement and lowered her gun.

            Scott nodded as he stared at the broken pistol. _She did go down too easy. She was a vampire too, why did she come here? _He looked up when he heard Jen's cell phone go off. She raised her to her ear, "What is it Alex?"

            "Jen? Shit, we're under attack!" Came a panicked voice through the phone. The woman had to pull it away from her ear from the intensity of the scream.

            Scott held out his hand for the phone and Jen handed it to him. "Alex, explain what's going on?"

            "I don't know! It looks like they sent another unit in like before. But whoever these guys are, they're cutting down those monsters like its their job. They didn't even flinch. Those monsters are practically exploding as they're being shot."

            Scott looked to Reiki and asked, "Explosive shells?"

            Reiki shook his head, "No, D11 doesn't use that equipment."

            "Oh shit!" There was a cry of pain and then the line went dead. Scott looked to his two companions in complete shock.

            Jen was the first to speak, "Scott we need to get out of here before they get here."

            Scott nodded in agreement when Reiki spoke up, "I wonder what kind of weaponry they were using. Before Alex and I were shot and granted it hurt, it didn't kill us."

            "Silver." Came a cold voice. All three heads looked to the source of the sound and in unison all their eyes widened in shock. Standing against the wall, as if she didn't have a care in the world, was Seras. "Vampires are weak to silver, thus we use it for hunting."

            There was a long tense silence as the three vampires stared at the woman who before had been dead. _How is she still in one piece? _Reiki thought as he and Jen raised their guns at the same time. He didn't have time to react before something ripped through his arm. He screamed in pain as he fell to his knees in pain, clutching for his arm only to find that it was no longer there. He heard a similar cry from Jen and looked up to see that she had lost her weapon in a similar way. Her hand was now missing and she was biting her lip to keep from screaming out in pain. Reiki's eyes glazed over and he glared at the woman leaning against the wall, holding a pair of rather large pistols in her hands.

            Scott watched in complete shock as the woman had pulled two weapons from her coat and fired at his friends in an instant. He felt his glasses slide forward towards the brim of his nose. His mouth was hanging open as his friends screamed in pain. _If I had blinked I would have missed that._ "What are you?" He asked softly and in a fearful voice.

            Seras said nothing at first but then lowered her weapons. "You should know that no mere gun can fell a vampire." She then laughed as the man looked to his two friend's missing appendages and added, "at least, a normal gun." She then pointed a gun at the woman and one at the younger man. "Now, you are going to tell me who implanted the freak chips in you." She ordered, her voice dropping to an icy tone. All three of them shuddered when hearing the tone used in the last statement.

            Scott stared at the woman in confusion. _Freak chip? What is she talking about?_ Trying to maintain a cool front he took a step forward and asked, "Will you let us go if we cooperate?" He asked, his voice level. He felt his two friends staring at him in confusion but ignored it. _If there is still a chance to get you two out of this, I'm willing to die for it._

            "Noble sentiments young man, but no. I respect your wish to protect your friends but sadly I can't spare any of you. Though if you tell me I will let you pass on as painlessly as possible." Her eyes narrowed as she holstered one weapon into her coat and added, "Trust me, I can make it as painful or as painless as I need but I will get the information I require."

            Jen panicked and cried out, "Why can't you let us go? You're a vampire too aren't you?"

            Seras stared at the girl, causing her to shrink back. "That's right, however if I let cockroaches like you four run free it'll cause trouble for me." She then glared back at the leader and stated in a cold voice. "Now tell me who turned you into freaks."

            Scott glared at the woman and could only feel a chill from her. _Is this it? I need to think so Jen and Reiki can get away. However, before he could come up with a plan, Jen dove towards the hostages, grabbing the woman by the neck and holding her in front as a shield. "Let us go or this bitch dies!"_

            "Jen!" Scott shot a rebuke that fell on deaf ears as he felt cold air rush by him. Without hesitation, Seras turned her gun towards the vampire and fired once, striking her in the head. With only a scream from the captive, both captor and captive fell to the ground. Jen turned to dust before Scott or Reiki could call her name. The woman just lay of the floor on her stomach, sobbing bitterly. Scott and Reiki both turned to the attacker and growled. "You monster…"

            Seras blinked when she heard that, an old memory coming to mind. 

            _"Master…they were humans."_

_            "That's right. I can kill them, because I'm a monster."_

_            Seras shook her head to dispel the unpleasant memory and took another shot. This bullet struck Reiki in the leg, causing his leg to vanish. His cry of pain was heartbreaking to his brother, who clenched his fists in absolute hatred of this woman. She withdrew her other gun and said again, "I'm not going to ask you again. I can make this as drawn out as possible if you want."_

            A voice crackled in her ear. "Victoria, the team in approaching your position, they'll be there in two minutes."

            Reiki spoke up, "Go to hell." 

            Seras frowned, "I've been there. Its everything you expect. I hope you enjoy it." She said as she fired again, striking him in the other leg.

            "Stop it!" Screamed Scott as he charged the woman. Seras merely sidestepped and hit him over the base of the neck with the handle of the Jackal. He slammed headfirst into the fall, leaving a small hole in it. She looked to her left and grabbed the younger man who by now was so petrified that he couldn't move anymore.

            "Listen up now. Last time I'm going to ask! If you don't answer me right now, I'm going to torture this boy instead of killing him. Just tell me and make it easier on yourselves." Seras said again, her voice no longer containing any coldness. In fact, it seemed more like pity than anything else. Seras tilted the boy's head towards her own as Scott pulled himself out of the wall.

            Reiki gulped under her gaze. "We don't know. Some guy we had never seen before did this to us."

            Scott yelled, "Reiki, no!"

            Reiki continued, despite his brother's assurances. "It doesn't matter anymore Scott. If she doesn't get it she's just going to torture you. I don't want that." He turned back to Seras, "He brought us to some abandoned warehouse in the port district. I don't remember what happened but when we woke up we were like this." Reiki hung his head in shame.

            Reiki felt his head being tilted up gently by soft hands and looked up to see Seras giving him a small smile. She bent over and gave the younger man a small kiss on the forehead. "Thank you young man. If I had the authority, I would've let the three of you go but I'm afraid that's not possible." Her eyes seemed distant as if remembering some painful memory when she added, "I'll make the one who did this to you pay, I promise you that."

            Reiki smiled, a small and genuine smile. A smile that made its way past all the pain and shame. "Thank you." He then turned to his brother and mouthed, "It's okay brother. I'll see you again soon." He suddenly fell limp and turned to dust. Scott watched as Seras withdrew her fingers from where Reiki's heart had been and rise to her feet.

            He couldn't take it anymore. _Jen, Alex, little brother…_ He fell to his knees, tears in his eyes. His will to fight was gone. He just stared at the dust that used to be his brother in silence, tears flowing freely. He didn't even noticed when Seras came over and kneeled in front of him until she brought her arms around him gently. "I'm sorry." Her voice came in softly, as if she was repressing tears of her own.

            He took no action as she hugged him. "You have no right to say anything. You killed him. You killed Jen." His voice was dead, tired, and as if he was speaking to himself.

            "You're right. I'm sorry." He then felt something wet hit his face and looked into the eyes of the woman. _She's beautiful, _he thought. It turns out that was the last thought he had before he turned into dust. 

            Seras stood up and faced away from the door as she heard her men enter. She didn't face them as she said, "Take them out of here. Contact a disposal unit and tell everyone to clear out. Go back to Hellsing manor and issue a report to Lord Hellsing. I'm not going back yet."

            "Understood." The team leader said as he motioned for his men to free the hostages and bring them outside. Finally he shot a glance back at the young woman before leaving the room, a question looming on his mind. _Was she crying?_

_            It was the same thing that was on Seras' mind as she felt them leave. She still hadn't moved as the thought bounced around inside her head. Finally she raised her hand to her eyes and found them to be moist. She wiped her eyes quickly and whispered angrily to herself. _I'm not much better than Alucard am I? These freaks were harmless, asking for medical blood so they wouldn't harm anyone. And I killed them like they were less than nothing. I'm just like Alucard…a monster. _ "I fucking hate this." She whispered angrily to herself in a soft and weak voice. She picked up the sunglasses from the dust pile that used to be a person and turned them over in her hands. She grabbed them gently with her left hand and then turned towards the wall and sent her right fist through it. "Damn it to hell!" She yelled out, her eyes closed in an attempt to stop the tears. She slowly backed away from the wall and placed the sunglasses over her own eyes. She took one last look around the room and sniffed once more before vanishing into the shadows._

            Several blocks away, two shadowy figures stood atop a hotel in the main square of London. There were looking towards the distance with similar grins on their faces. One looked to the other and asked, "So, how was it?" The voice was light and chipper, definitely owned by one of the fairer sex.

            The other figure's grinned only widened as it opened its hand. Inside was a small red jewel that had been glowing gently. "Like a charm. I'm surprised it worked so well from this distance."

            The first merely sighed and added, "Well it did take a while to kick in. But it looked like it was working. It looked as if it was starting to affect those other three too. She left before we could really confirm it though." There was a long pause before she asked, "Is that woman really a threat?"

            There was a gruff cough but then the second said, "She could be. She isn't a freak, and loyal to that riff-raff."

            The woman sighed, "I can't believe that Incognito lost to that riff-raff."

            "Understandable. His purpose was to eliminate the pure blood and he failed. Though Hellsing's fall from a position of power will benefit us well."

            "Unexpected, true. But is that enough?"

            The second nodded in agreement, "Despite the setback a century or so ago, the plan is still good to go, there have been no unexpected moves."

            The moonlight lit the face of the first figure, revealing a pale skinned beauty with light green hair. "Even the moves of the Vatican? Master did say that they could interfere with the plan." Her red eyes glistened in the moonlight as she looked back to the horizon.

            The second figure stepped forward, revealing itself slightly. He also had red eyes, and was wearing a brown suit. His black hair was tied into a small ponytail as it flopped around in the breeze. "Catholicism will probably not be too much of a threat. It has been rotting from the inside for some time now. It will most likely be too weak to stand in our way. The only reason that the Iscariots remain as they are is mostly because they are under the direct command of the Pope himself." He then grinned as the woman next to him stood up and they both turned around and began to walk away. One more thing was said before they vanished into the darkness.

            "Everything is going according to plan, our master will be pleased."


	6. Chapter 5

To any of the readers, if you're interested in being a pre-reader drop me a note at niemczkj@clarkson.edu. Already have 1 person who said they'll do it if I ask, but if anyone else can spare the time, I'd appreciate it.

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**Chapter 5: First Impressions**

"Try to find your deepest issue in every confusion, and abide by that."****

Seras stumbled down the stairs towards her room in a fit of exhaustion. She once again had her coat draped over her shoulder and was leaning against the wall for support. She was also breathing heavily as she slowly walked down the hallway towards her room. She felt slightly lightheaded but it was a pleasant feeling to her battered senses. _Sleep. I'm so god damn tired._ She looked up and cursed softly when she saw someone waiting at her door, his arms crossed across his chest and glaring at her.

She came to a stop before the man and looked up, strain evident across her face. "Can I do something for you Lord Hellsing?" She asked, the man blinked at her appearance and Seras saw his nostrils flare at least one. _Probably smells the alcohol._

"Where the hell have you been? I've been waiting for your report since last night." He paused and waited for her answer.

"Out. I took the night off after we accomplished the mission." She said tiredly as she leaned against the wall next to him. She looked up to him and wondered lazily why he was so angry.

"Since when do you take time off?" The man asked in disbelief, trying very hard to drop his anger, especially since he knew exactly what she was capable of doing. She sighed and slid down the wall, coming to a stop when her bottom hit the floor. She leaned against the wall with her body but her head slumped forward. The man found himself biting his lower lip to restrain his anger. "You had responsibilities to report back to me after a mission. You know that."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She said in annoyance, her tone rising in volume as she stared at his face in an expression of anger. Most men, knowing what she was, would've shrunk away from that gaze. The leader of Hellsing however stood his ground and returned Victoria 's glare with one of his own, one that would've sent a lesser man running in fear. "Is that all you came down here for?" She asked in anger, turning her head away from the man as she stared back at the ground. 

The man raised an eyebrow as he watched the woman grab her head in what seemed like pain. _Does she usually get this agitated? Wonder what's eating her._ "Listen up blood sucker—" But he was cut off by the young woman.

"Please William, not now." Her voice came out tired and annoyed, but surprisingly soft, as if pleading. "I can't deal with this right now, can it wait until tonight?" 

_Draculina making a request instead of just doing whatever she wants?_ The man watched her stand up and walk past him to her door but stopped outside of it. She looked up to him with an expression of great pain. He almost gasped but caught himself in time. The man had known the girl since he was eight years old, and not once did he ever see her in such a state. When seeing her face, he relented and let out a sigh. "Victoria , get some rest. Make your report to me when you are fully rested." 

She looked at the man as if surprised but said nothing at first. Finally, after a staring match that seemed to go on forever, he put his hand on her shoulder and his tone drastically changed from anger to a softer one. "Get some sleep, you look like hell."

She gave the man a genuine smile, the first 'true' smile she had ever given him. "Thank you sir." She said softly as she entered her room. The door closed behind her quietly and Lord Hellsing walked down the hallway away from her room, confused as to what had happened the night before to have such an effect on the female vampire. 

~

Seras stood outside the office door with her hand raised to knock but did nothing. She had woken up to find that her headache was gone and she felt as well as she normally did upon waking. She struggled to find an answer as she walked towards the office of the leader of Hellsing, electing to actually indulge the man's request that she 'knock for once before coming in and scaring the hell out of me.' However, upon her arrival, she paused, still trying to understand why she had acted the way she had acted the night before. _That was strange. It felt as if a lot of old feelings and memories were rushing to the surface. Hell, it sent me to the bars and I haven't had a drink for at least a quarter of a decade. She finally shook her head to dispel the uneasy feeling and knocked three times on the wooden door._

"Come in." Came the voice inside. Seras raised an eyebrow at the man's cheerful tone but only opened the door and stepped inside. She closed it behind her before looking towards the desk. She didn't raise her eyes however, her mind still locked in a state between shame and confusion. "Oh, Victoria . I was wondering when you would show up." Came the voice of Lord Hellsing as he turned in his chair to face her. He then thought for a moment and added, "Thanks for knocking for once."

Seras stepped forward and was about to speak when something caught her eye. Well, rather not something but someone. Seras stared at the little girl that was standing next to her father, apparently drawing something on a piece of paper. The girl looked around six years old, with blond hair that was drawn back into a ponytail and tied with some red strings. Somewhat surprised by the girl's presence, Seras asked dumbly with her mouth hanging open, "Your daughter?" The girl responded to the new voice by looking up and locking eyes with Seras. Seras bit her lip to keep from gasping when she saw that the girl's eyes were blue and her face looked remarkably similar. _She…she looks like Integra._

The man scratched his head in a small bit of embarrassment. "Yes, she decided she wanted to surprise me and drop by for a visit." The girl looked to her father and smiled a large smile, causing the young girl to look rather cute.

Seras laughed a small bit at the man's embarrassment and the girl's reaction. She looked back to the man and seemed to ask something. Without really thinking about it, the man nodded, somewhat knowing what the woman was asking. He brought his daughter about from behind the desk and stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. The girl seemed confused but allowed herself to be presented like this. Seras walked forward and bent over to inspect the girl. Seras bent both her knees and stood on the balls of her feet in order to compensate for the vast height difference. "Hello Miss Hellsing. My name is Seras, its nice to meet you." Seras said, closing her eyes and extending her hand with a smile.

The girl positively beamed at the attention and shook Seras' hand enthusiastically. "I'm Alice . It's nice to meet you too." Seras chuckled at the girl as she opened her eyes. She almost felt as if she was being pulled into those blue orbs before she stood up with a smile. She playfully rustled the child's hair, causing the young girl to start to giggle.

"Alice , could you go play outside for a few minutes, I need to talk to your daddy." Seras asked with a small smile on her face.

"Actually, her mother is here to pick her up." Lord Hellsing said, more to his daughter than to Seras. He bent down and whispered in his daughter's ear, "Honey, don't keep your mother waiting."

The girl looked up and smiled at her father before saying, "Okay daddy." She looked back to Seras and said, "It was nice meeting you Miss Seras." She then ran towards the door playfully and left the room, closing the door behind her. Both of the room's occupants merely smiled at the girls behavior.

"You're a very lucky man Lord Hellsing. She's beautiful." Seras said with no trace of sarcasm to be found in her voice. In fact, it sounded somewhat like envy or jealousy.

The man walked around his desk and sat in his chair. "I know. She really takes after her mother though." He said, turning to face the woman.

Seras shrugged, "Could've fooled me. She looks remarkably like your great-great-grandmother." Seras raised an eyebrow to think if she had added one too many 'greats' or not. _Then again, its not like many of the former leaders of Hellsing had long lives._ This was true to a certain extent. It was as if the Hellsing family was cursed, with the members dying at young ages either from accidents or diseases of one sort or another. One had even died while leading a personal raid on the increasing number of nonhumans. _Rather ironic that I've been here longer than a few of them put together._

The man raised his eyebrow in astonishment, "Really? Well that ruins my wife's idea I suppose." He said with a chuckle. He face hardened up though and the feeling in the room went remarkably cold. "So, will I get your report now?"

Seras straightened up. "Yes sir. I also apologize for my actions this morning."

He then asked a question, his voice genuinely concerned, "I was concerned about that. I don't think you've ever drank since I've known you. It surprised me to say the least."

Seras looked away in what seemed like shame. "Yes, I know. I haven't drank since the death of the late Lady Hellsing." The man seemed to nod in understanding. Seras had really respected the man's mother, and the previous leader of the Hellsing Institution. In Seras' mind, the woman had fit the mold of what Hellsing's leader should be, without being as ice cold as Integra was. In fact, the woman treated Seras as a close confidant, sharing secrets with her and giving orders that Seras would always obey out of respect. In fact, Seras would go out of her way to work with Lady Hellsing to make sure everything went smoothly for the organization. The woman's death in a car accident caused Seras and the Hellsing family to suffer greatly, but no worse than the son who had to be brought into to lead the institution at such a young age with no knowledge of what his family did. _I suppose he deserves some respect for coming to this point from that situation. _

Seras shook her head to remove the memories that were plaguing her mind at the moment and issued her report. "We arrived and took over the operation from D11 as planned. I don't know the exact time so don't quote me on it. After setting the ground work for the infiltration team's route, I went to the roof and came in from there. The human team eliminated one of the freaks and its ghouls with ease, while I dealt with the other three. The hostages were recovered safely."

The man nodded and swiveled in his chair a little bit. "Excellent work Victoria ."

The woman shrugged and added, "Also, I was able to extort some information out of the freaks before eliminating them." She looked up to see that the man was staring at her, urging her to continue her report. "They told me that someone brought them to an abandoned warehouse near the port district and that when the woke up they were freaks."

The man frowned as he turned away from the vampire to ponder this new development. "I'll have intelligence start looking into it. Even if there is a factory near there, I doubt it'll still be in production."

Seras nodded in agreement. "I agree, however there may be some remnants of a lab or factory. If we can get our hands on some clues, we may be able to track the trail left behind." She looked to up see that the man was facing her again, as if taking in all she had to say like a sponge. "Sir, I'm willing to cooperate with intelligence to find it."

The man grinned and said, "Excellent. The port district is large and full of warehouses so I doubt it'll be a short search. Your assistance will be helpful." 

"Sir, I also highly recommend dispatching some specialists out searching as well, my own range is limited during the day." Her only response was a rough cough and a small nod.

He then rested his elbows on the desk with his hands across each other and rested his chin on his hands. "What about that other matter?"

Seras looked at the man as if confused then realized what he was asking. "Yes, he definitely has a gift, although he himself doesn't fully realize it yet." Seras let a smile cover her face, "I'm sure he can be trained accordingly."

"Oh, are you sure?"

"Yes. He was able to sense how many freaks were in the building. I'm sure with some more training he will be able to even tell ghouls and freaks apart from each other and where they are actually located inside a building." Seras looked at the leader of Hellsing with a smile and added, "He's Division S class alright."

The man nodded in understanding. "His injuries will hinder his training I suppose. About another month before he can reclaim active duty." 

Seras shook her head. "Not really as much as you're thinking."

"Explain." The man ordered, looking up at the female vampire with a confused look.

Seras explained, waving her hand out in front of her. "Simple. Just have him accompany your infiltration squads but keep him outside with your command unit." The man was still confused, "Its simple really, I'll talk to him first but he'll try to sense the number of vampires and refine his ability and just compares when the team finishes. Have him keep doing this until his arm heals then we just transfer him to the facility." Lord Hellsing seemed to understand her idea and was thinking about it while scratching his chin. Seras then added, "While we're talking about it, check to see if any operatives in training are close to stage two or three yet. If we're going to bring Griphten there, I might as well spend my time wisely. At least one of those greenhorns should be at stage three."

The man nodded and said, "I understand." He then spun around and faced away from the vampire. There was a short silence and then he asked, "Do you have anything else left to report?"

Seras thought a moment to the previous night where she seemed to have had lost control of herself but shook her head to free her mind. "Perhaps, but I won't comment on it quite yet. I need to figure it out first." She stated simply.

"Alright then. Continue with your search and destroy orders for the time being. Once intelligence sets up their tactics, I'll let you know."

"Understood." The man turned around to add something else but Seras was gone. He frowned and thought, _She came in through the door, couldn't she leave through it for once too?_ He shook his head and opened a drawer in his desk and withdrew a file. It was the same file that had been open on his desk before; the classified file on Seras Victoria , the most powerful weapon that the Hellsing institution possessed. He withdrew the picture of the woman when she was still human and looked at it with great interest. _Seras Victoria, former member of the D11 elite team. All traces of her existence were wiped out long before my time. This file contains all that remains of her past life._

The man broke from his thoughts when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in." He said, still reading over the file. He looked up to see that his confidant Christopher had come in and stood before him with a small white cup on a tray. He was an elder man, with grey hair who stood wearing a tie and suit. He had a smile on his face that reminded anyone who would see him as a grandfatherly figure.

"Would you like some tea Master William." He asked, holding the tray forward in an offer.

Lord Hellsing smiled and grabbed the teacup with one hand while laying the file down on his desk. "Thank you Christopher." He drank some of the warm tea and felt its soothing taste all the way to his stomach. "I needed that. It's been a while since you called me that." He added, letting a chuckle out.

The butler smiled as he brought the serving tray under his arm. "Was the little lady too much for you sir?"

The man looked to Christopher in surprise, "What? Oh Alice , no she wasn't any problem." He said as he took another sip of tea. He then smiled sadly, a smile that reeked of depressing thoughts and things better left unsaid. "I only wonder when she'll be dragged into this…institution."

The butler nodded in understanding. He had served the Hellsing family for many years, in fact most of his life. He remembered the late lady Hellsing with fond memories. Her unexpected death hurt everyone, especially the man sitting before him now. Christopher had tried his best to help console the boy and assist him with the family 'business' as much as he could, but he could understand Master Hellsing's thoughts. "I don't think you have anything you should worry about. By the time she inherits the institution, she will be ready for it. She will understand the responsibility that you will entrust to her."

Lord Hellsing shot a look of amusement. "You're pretty confident about an six year old girl's sense of responsibility my friend." His tone lost its amusement and went back to its previous neutrality that the man normally used when speaking. "She met Victoria today."

Christopher looked up in surprise at that tidbit of information. He had known that Master Hellsing and the vampire woman have never been on good terms, though he did not understand the reason why. The fact that the woman met her future boss today caused the man to realize that maybe the girl was doomed to this life of hunting either way. "Does your daughter have any idea what she is?"

Lord Hellsing shook his head. "No, she doesn't. I've begun to read her stories about vampires and she loves them. She thinks the stories are, in her own words 'really really cool.'" The man chuckled as he placed the cup down on his desk and picked up the file on Seras again. "Its depressing to think that when the time comes, she'll be shocked to know that the lady she met is a blood sucker I think. I know it was a shock to me when I met Victoria . I still remember how she put her fist through that desk."

Christopher chuckled lightly, recalling the incident that the master was referring to. It was shortly after the death of his mother, and Christopher had brought the young master, at that time ten years old, to Hellsing manor. That had been a…disturbing drive.

_Christopher sat in the back of the limo with his left arm around the young boy's shoulders. The young boy looked down in deep sadness, and a little fear. He had learned that he would be taking over the family business, and even someone who was denser than lead could tell the boy was feeling overwhelmed. Christopher sighed and asked the young boy, "Master William, do you know what you mother did for a living?"_

_ The boy looked up, his eyes damp with unshed tears. He wiped his eyes with his right sleeve before answering. "Not really. Mom…never really talked about work. I know it has something to do with an institution."_

_ The man nodded, looking away from the boy for a few moments of silence. At one point, Christopher asked, "Master William, from what you know of fantasy creatures, which one is the most terrifying?"_

_ The boy looked up, confused by the sudden question. "What?" Seeing the man's serious expression, the boy knit his brow in deep thought. "Umm, werewolves?"_

_ The man laughed at the boy's nervous answer, "Those are indeed terrifying but can you think of any others?"_

_ The boy, feeling more sure of himself answered again, "Vampires?"_

_ Christopher nodded as the car pulled into Hellsing manor. "That is correct master William. Do you know why?"_

_ The boy seemed to drift into deep thought as they got out of the car and walked into the manor. "'Cause they drink blood?"_

_ The man nodded, "That indeed is a reason to fear them, but that's not what makes them truly terrifying." _

_ "You can only kill them with a stake through the heart?"_

_ "There are other ways to destroy them." The man said, leading the boy into his mother's former office. The man crossed himself slightly as he walked in._

_ The boy stopped walking and looked to his guardian. "Why are you asking me this?"_

_ The man sighed, "Master William, for millennia the Hellsing family has…hunted vampires. The institution exists solely for that purpose."_

_ The boy looked at the man in disbelief and said, "That's a good one Christopher. Seriously now, what does the institution do?"_

_ "Master William, I do not lie to you. Vampires exist, and the institution has hunted them long before we were born."_

_ "You can't be serious." The boy said, starting to fear afraid by what was being told to him._

_ "We hunt creatures of the night under order from the Queen herself, Master William." He noticed the sun going down and added, "We're going to meet someone here who can describe the actions of the Hellsing Institution much better than I can."_

_ The boy looked nervous as he walked around the room fidgeting. "Who is it?"_

_ "Someone who worked for your mother, and is probably the best vampire hunter in Hellsing."_

_ "Well where is he?"_

_ "It's a she and she's probably still sleeping. Sit down and relax Master William, I'll bring you some tea." The boy nodded and sat down in a chair behind the desk, adjusting himself accordingly. The man chuckled as he thought about how much time the boy would spend in that chair in the future as he went to get the boy some tea. "I hope she doesn't scare the hell out of him." He said to himself as he prepared the tea._

_ Christopher returned shortly after that with two cups of tea and handed one to the young master. He took the other for himself and looked out of the office window. The sun had gone down and the moon was slowly rising. He was broken out of his reverie as he heard the boy scream in panic and he looked to see what was wrong. He was met by the view of a young woman with brown hair leaning against the desk looking at the boy with great interest. He swore silently to himself and thought 'Damn it _Victoria_ _, did you really need to scare the life out of him?'__

_ "So this is the new leader of the Hellsing Institution?" She asked out loud to no one in particularly. Her voice was cold and distant, as if she was reciting something she already knew by heart. She stood up and walked around towards the front of the desk, never taking her eyes off the boy._

_ The boy had shrunk back in the chair, obviously very frightened of the woman's sudden appearance and cold demeanor. "Who are you?"_

_ The woman gazed deeply into the boy's eyes with her own red eyes and smiled. She then answered, her voice sounding formal but no longer bearing any of the chill that had previously been there, "Good Evening Lord Hellsing. I am Seras _Victoria_ _. It is nice to finally meet you. I'm sure we will be seeing a lot of each other in the future."__

Christopher broke out of the memory when recalling how Seras fully explained the purpose of the Hellsing Institution, and showing off why they hunted vampires. Two weeks of nightmares, training, education and a new desk later, the new Lord Hellsing assumed his position. 

Lord Hellsing seemed to break from his own thoughts and asked as he held the file out to the elder man. "Have intelligence found out what the hackers were trying to find out about her?"

Christopher took the file and shook his head. "No, as of yet no information is conclusive. What worries me more is that they knew of her existence and where to find the information."

The younger man nodded, "I agree. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were looking for. Have we taken precautious as of yet?"

"Yes sir, we have isolated the point of entry and I have our best programmers working on finding a way to prevent such a thing from happening again."

"Not that it really matters," Lord Hellsing said, "the hackers have what they wanted. It's just the question of why they want to know about her." He turned back to his mentor and said with a command, "Find out if there is any useful information that could be used against her taken. Keep intelligence on this, I want to know who did this."

The man nodded in understanding, "Sir, only a few people know of her existence within this organization. The list of suspects cannot be very long."

Lord Hellsing took another sip of his tea and added, "I know. In fact, outside of this institution, the only other people to know of her are the Queen and the round table." He paused for a moment, "Most of our soldiers don't know about her though, and none know about this file."

"You think there is a traitor in the round table Master Hellsing." Christopher asked.

"Definitely. There has always been those in the round table that detested our use of vampires to hunt their own." He paused for a moment then asked, "Christopher, is this all the hackers took?"

"Yes sir, it was just the file that we compiled on Victoria that was copied. The rest of our system remains untouched, they didn't have enough time to get anything else. Why do you ask sir?"

The man grinned, a somewhat maniacal expression in its own right. "Reading through my mother's journal, she makes mention to Hellsing's trump card, and where she had been told it was sealed. I was just curious to see if they were interested in that at all."

"Trump card sir? I was under the impression that Victoria was our trump card in our little war against the undead."

The man shook his head and stood up and turned to the window. "No my friend, there is another. A card that apparently makes Victoria pale in comparison. It is however a double edged sword, a joker of the deck if you will." There was silence in the room as the statement hung in the air. "Christopher, continue to look for answers in this matter. Also, have Lieutenant Griphten come to my office later this evening. I need to discuss with him his future orders."

"Understood sir, by your leave." The man gathered the empty teacup and bowed before leaving the room. The leader of Hellsing remained, his gaze locked upon the moon sailing high in the night sky beneath the sea of stars. _Be on your guard Victoria, this time your enemies aren't just the undead. We have a Judas in our midst._


	7. Chapter 6

Thanks to BlueLion for proof-reading the chapter.

As for all the questions revolving around everyone's favorite Vampire slayer, I don't want to give out too much but I will say this. THis will not become a Seras/Alucard Fic. Personally, the way I always saw it was that she had more of a type of respect for Alucard than anything romantic. That doesn't mean that he won't make an appearance, but we still have a long way to go.

****

**Chapter Six: Section Thirteen Appears **

"I hope I never get so old I get religious." 

Within a small office building on the outskirts of the city of London, a man in a brown suit walked in, a small briefcase in his hand. He smiled to the elderly guard as he walked by him, towards the elevators on the far side of the room. He entered, pushing the button for the eleventh floor and waited as the door slowly closes. Within minutes, he found himself walking into a row of cubicles, seeing many other workers packing up for the night. One of them approached him and said jokingly, "Hey man, I guess its time for your shift."

The man in the brown chuckled looked into the man's eyes with his own red ones. "You know what they say, no rest for the wicked. Somebody has to do the late shifts here, or are you volunteering." He said playfully.

The man shook his head and laughed as he pat the man on the shoulder as he walked by. "Good sir, the graveyard shift is all yours my friend." He flicked the man's small ponytail nub as he walked by, commenting about the man's hairstyle. The figure in the brown suit continued to an office room in the far corner and locked the door behind him. He breathed out and clenching his right hand into a fist while gritting his teeth in order to keep from punching through the wall. _ I can't stand humans._ He then let out a deep breath and sat down at the desk in the middle of the room. He drew a small key from his pocket, unlocked one of the desk drawers and pulled out a small device. Within a few moments, he connected the line and raised the receiver to his ear. "Lorenz here."

A cracked voice came through the other end, the voice obviously being distorted. "Was the information of any use?"

Lorenz grinned to himself and replied back, "Yes, it will be most useful. Fear not, the funds have been transferred into the account. There are no problems."

The voice remained unconvinced, "Are you sure? That was a risky move, William Hellsing is not a stupid man. I've put myself in great risk here Lorenz."

Lorenz grit his teeth together again and paused to collect himself, "My master understands that, you will be rewarded." There was a long pause from the other end until Lorenz said, "The new versions of the freak chips are working as planned, however they are still not yet perfect."

"What would you have me do?"

Lorenz shrugged to himself, fully aware that the person on the other end of the line couldn't see him. "Speed up the process. The Vatican is starting to move, we need those things perfected before we can truly act."

"Impossible. The area is far too well watched, Hellsing would notice us. I dare not take such a risk."

Lorenz almost crushed the receiver in his hand as he thought to himself, _ Foolish human. You play with powers your puny mind cannot comprehend and you fear being discovered now?_ "Irrelevant. It will be taken care of."

There was another long pause before the voice answered. "I will see what I can do, but you will need to keep Hellsing occupied. Turn the eyes of that group away from my people and I will see what I can do. Tell your master I will not stay on board of a sinking ship."

Lorenz smiled to himself. _The fool honestly thinks he holds ground over us. Oh well, if he betrays us it merely comes down to us killing him before he can do any damage._ "I will pass along your message but you should watch your tone human. My master can find another to aid us." Lorenz then killed the connection before leaning back in his chair. He strokes his chin in deep thought. _The human does have a point though. Hellsing is too focused right now, any change in the general movement of freaks and they will notice. The _ _Vatican_ _ as well, though they remain the enemy unseen._ He then smiled to himself as he walked out of the room, _Though in the end, William Hellsing is mortal, thus he has a weakness. That will be exploited._ That thought stayed in his mind as he left the building.

It would be found the next day that there was no trace existed of Lorenz, either on the video cameras nor in anyone's mind.

~

Seras stood on top of an overlooking building in the central area of the city. The bustle of the city lights and movements of the traffic calmed her in a way she didn't really understand. _Probably because it appears to be so normal, peaceful. _Seras knew better though. Beneath the bright lights and activity of the city, she knew of the dark forces that stirred beyond the notice of the normal citizens. _ Something is coming, this is the calm before the storm. _Her eyes narrowed at the dark thoughts and she went to move away.

She grabbed her forehead once again in mild pain. _ Damn headaches are coming back. I think I better take the night off for now, at least until this damn headache fades._ It had been two weeks since the last infiltration she had assisted with and that was the point that she could trace the headaches beginning from. She began walking towards one side of the building's roof and slowly turned into a series of bats. The bats dropped over the side of the building, falling nearly fifteen stories before swooping up before the ground and coming back together, forming the shape of the woman. She brushed some dust of her blue coat and walked out of the alley, a small and amused grin on her face. She pulled a pair of dark purple sunglasses with circular frames out from her pocket and placed them over her eyes before continuing her walk down the crowded street. A small smile crossed her features as she found herself thinking, _It's a good evening._

Suddenly a cry from up the street caused Seras to direct her attention to a woman screaming. A man was running away from her carrying a small bag, his face knit into an expression of concentration as he ran down the street, dashing in between pedestrians. "Help, he stole my purse!" The woman yelled, pointing to the retreating man. Seras saw the man running towards her and stopped walking. Without even realizing it, as the man passed by her, she stuck her arm out. The man's body stopped all forward movement as he hit her arm. Well, to be more precise, the upper portion of the man's body ceased all forward movement as his legs kept going. This instant action causing the man's legs to somehow slip up into the air as his torso felt to the ground and he landed on his back, his head landing against the pavement. Seras withdrew her arm and stared at it in confusion. _When did I do that? _ She blinked once again at the thought, opening a pair of new ones to her. _Why did I do that? It's not like me to meddle in such an affair._ She then grabbed her head lightly again and winced in slight pain. _ This again? What the hell is wrong with me?_

During this whole internal monologue, the woman who the man had stolen the bag from came over and grabbed her purse back. She looked up to the brown haired woman and said, "Thank you."

Seras looked to the woman in confusion, breaking out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

The woman gave her a strange look and then ventured, "You stopped the thief. Thank you."

Seras, somehow realizing the situation, scratched the back of her head in confusion. "Ah, you're welcome…I guess." Seras stopped scratched her head as the man started to stumble to his feet, wondering what the hell had hit him. He eyed the woman's purse again as he stood up and grabbed as he rose and bolted away again. Seras looked at the woman, annoyance prevalent on her face, "You're not too quick are you?" The woman didn't respond as she began to yell again to stop the thief. Seras sighed bent over and picked up a small rock off the ground. She watched the man running away, as most of the crowd seemed to part for him as he ran. She tossed the small rock into the air a little, grabbed it in mid air, brought her arm back and then threw the rock in such a way that would make a baseball pitcher envy. The rock hit the man in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. She frowned when she saw the woman running after the downed crook and hoped that she hadn't used too much strength. She then turned away and continued her evening walk, her headache still pounding in the back of her mind.

A few hours later Seras found herself sitting at a small club in downtown London . Behind her she could hear the pulse pounding beats of very fast past trance music and she idly tapped her left foot against the ground to the beat. People were filling up tables and the dance floor, with the presence of strobe lights and fog machines working in time with the music. She was sitting at the bar, resting her chin against the surface as she idly twirled her drink in its glass. The seats next to her were empty, as if no one could be around her. _That sounds about right, besides what human would willingly associate with a monster?_ Seras frowned at that thought and realized that no one was sitting next to her because she didn't want anyone to. She had already rejected two advances from young men, telling one off quite plainly. She grabbed her head as she silently hoped that the man's wrist wasn't broken. _What's wrong with me. That's two nights in a row. I haven't felt this messed up since Alucard turned me._ She detected something behind her but ignored it as she sat up a little more and took a sip of her drink. It wasn't until someone sat beside her that she looked over. Her eyes widened momentarily behind her sunglasses but she said nothing.

The man who had sat down next to her was in his early thirties, with uncombed blond hair that seemed to bring out the color of his blue eyes. He was wearing grey and white clothing that hung off his body loosely. Seras also noticed the silver cross that hung around his neck. His grey coat hung down past his knees over the back of the stool that he was sitting on. She turned her gaze back in front of her as she took another drink. There was a tense silence that lingered at the bar, letting the sounds of the active nightclub attempt to drift towards the two. The noise however lost to the silence and seemed to be scared to come any closer to the pair, so it waited a safe distance away. Seras finally broke the silence. "Good Evening Father, could I buy you a drink?"

The man smiled in an amused way, but not in a way that one would normally think. There was deep resentment behind that smile, as well as numerous other angry emotions. "How about a Bloody Mary then Draculina?" He asked sarcastically.

Seras laughed and gestured to the bartender. As the bartender walked over she chuckled lightly, "And he has a sense of humor too. Here I was thinking about how the last Iscariot I dealt with had no sense of humor." Seras still ordered the man the drink and chuckled lightly to herself as she saw his scowl of disapproval. The bartender came back with the drink and gave it to the priest, making the sign of the cross before retreating to the other end of the bar. The priest took the drink and took a sip of it, glaring at the vampire as he did.

"So, you're the great executioner of the Hellsing Institution? The vampire that acts like a dog to its master." He asked, throwing hatred and spite into every word.

Seras shrugged as she took a drink. "No, you're thinking of my former master. He is the one who is bound to service to the Hellsings. I merely work for them." She said idly as she dipped one of her fingers into her drink and swirled it lightly. She still wasn't looking at him but asked, "So, what's your name?"

"Pardon?" He asked, completely confused by the normal tone this conversation had taken on. _Doesn't she realize I'm hunting her?_

"It wasn't a hard question. You do understand English don't you? I can ask in Latin if you prefer." The last statement hung in the air, a trace of sarcasm on it.

The man took another drink then answered, removing his glare from the woman to stare at the bottles behind the bar. "I have no names to give to one that will vanish back into the darkness before the night ends."

Seras let out a hearty laugh, somewhat offending the man. "Indulge this lost soul father. Tell me your name so I know what I can have written on your tombstone."

The man stood up, knocking the stool over. "Why you…" He gritted his teeth in anger. _ The woman takes me too lightly… _

Seras ignored the man's anger but raised her hand in a calming manner. "Father please, you're drawing attention. You wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong impression, would you?" The man looked around to see that in fact many people were staring at him, wondering to themselves what a Priest was doing in a nightclub. He resigned himself to calm down, picked the stool up and sat down again. Seras looked at him out of the corner of her eye and said, "You still haven't given me an answer yet."

There was a long silence then, _ why not? _"Perigrin. Mathew Perigrin." 

"Seras Victoria . It's a pleasure Father Perigrin." She held out her hand to shake but the man merely scoffed at her and took another sip of his drink. 

"Are you aware of the situation you're in?" The man asked, blatantly confused at the woman's easy going attitude. 

She smiled once before ordering another drink. She lowered her purple sunglasses and let her crimson eyes stare at him. He didn't shrink back from her gaze, rather he stood his ground, allowing his blue eyes to meet her eyes. She chuckled lightly as she replaced her glasses and rotated in her chair to watch the movements of the people on the dance floor. "Look at them father," she gestured with a small head motion. The man followed her example and swung around on the stool and watched the people, his drink in hand. She chuckled at that lightly but continued to speak, "They continue on with their lives, completely unaware of creatures of the night. Merely doing what feels good; living out the ecstasy of life; living only for the moment. Most of these people will go home tonight cheerful, with no thoughts of darkness. They will get up tomorrow morning, shower, then go to work with a smile on their face. Or, at least with a hangover." She added as her gaze lingered on a few men in the corner clinking mugs of beer together. "They are ignorant of the danger that is always present during the night, and flourish within that ignorance. It's a pity really." 

The priest said nothing at first, but then after taking a sip of his drink he asked, his voice genuinely thoughtful, "But humans are far from being fools."

Seras scoffed at the man's thoughtful tone. "There's no real difference to being ignorant and being fools. It's a matter of perspective father."

The man chuckled lightly, slightly amused at the first rise he had gotten from the female vampire. "Far from it. The lord will lend his assistance to the ignorant, for they are deserving of his grace." He then took another drink and continued, "There is a saying, that there exists three things in the world. The wise, the ignorant, and the fools. The wise have a duty to the ignorant, because they at one point were also ignorant. They have no such obligation to fools." He then glared at the woman and said coldly, "God has no time for fools." _Or for such trivialities, why I am allowing this to continue? _

Seras countered the man, "Then he really isn't as merciful as your holy scriptures lead us to believe, now is he?" She paused a moment in thought, "Does that mean that god was ignorant at one point too then?" The man's jaw dropped in shock but Seras ignored it and continued, "Perhaps, god is merely a fool who sees himself as wise?"

The man's grasp on his glass seemed to tightened up, and Seras somehow knew without looking that his knuckles went white from the pressure. "Are you trying to anger me, you living blasphemy?" He growled out, his tone a little louder than he would have liked. He went to stand when before he realized it, Victoria was holding him in his stool.

"Please father, if we fight here, your 'ignorant sheep' might get hurt. You'll get your chance, patience." He growled at her statement and took a calming breath before turning back to her. He shook his hand free of her grasp and sat back down, looking back out over the people. Seras muttered to herself under her breath, "Too serious." _I hope this guy can hold himself back for a short while. I'd hate to have to fight here, there would be too many casualties. _Seras blinked for a moment then realized that she had just been having a conversation with someone who's sole purpose in life was to kill her, and that she had been doing it calmly and somehow in control. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ She thought amazed to herself, turning her attention back to the priest. 

"Thou shalt not take the lord's name in vain." The priest muttered angrily but didn't continue further than that.

Seras felt her eyes darken and something seemed to take words out of her mouth. "Tell me this then father if you are so sure of your faith. Am I Satan's child? A being of sin, born unto this world for purely death and destruction? Am I evil?" Seras blinked again, starting to wonder if she was still sane. _ Where is all this coming from? It's like all the thoughts I keep locked away are the only ones I'm saying. Really weird, though kinda refreshing I guess._

Perigrin scoffed at that statement. "You know the answer to that, child of darkness."

"Now you're just being biased…" Seras said with a sigh. "I don't take human life, far from it. I actually protect these fools, those who you say god doesn't have time for. My existence is in symbiosis with humanity, your kind are merely too blind to see it." She glared at the man, her eyeglasses slipping down to the brim of her nose. "Prove me wrong and we can leave right now, otherwise I'm going to continue talking.."

The priest returned her glare and answered, "You chose your state, you knew what it entailed. I congratulate you on having so much willpower to resist that bloodlust that always lingers in your mind. But you will fall to it, as the ones before you have. Eventually, you will no longer be able to obtain medical blood, and you will embrace your true nature to survive. Your kind is like a parasite, men like me are the vaccine." _Is she deliberately trying to anger me? Or is she merely that confident in her own abilities. _

"Personally, I think humans are just terrified to think that they may not be top of the food chain." Seeing the man's cross gaze, she waved it off, trying to explain what she had just said. "Think of it this way, the cat eats the mouse but does anyone else see the cat as evil? No, the prey see the feline as a threat and therefore fears it. Humans are the same way, yet are blissfully unaware that they themselves are merely food to something else."

The man scoff at her thought and said, "God created man to have dominion over the world he created for us. Your kind is merely a sickness, a glitch in the system so to speak."

"So you're saying god makes mistakes?" She asked, her tone no longer having any amusement, more like fascination in fact. As if the conversation was causing her to think more clearly.

The man paused at that comment, not really sure how to respond. His hatred and spite was slowly draining from him as the conversation continued, without him even noticing. _This is an interesting conversation for a vampire I suppose._ He then answered, his own voice thoughtful on the conversation, "I suppose so. After all, he was unaware that Lilith would reject Adam at the creation."

Seras raised an eyebrow at this. "I thought it was Adam and Eve?" She asked, looking towards the man with an inquisitive expression.

The priest shook his head no. "Many people don't remember it, and it usually doesn't come up in scripture but god created a woman before Eve for Adam, but she rejected Adam."

The woman took a sip of her drink and spun around on the stool in a three hundred and sixty degree motion, depositing the glass on the bar and ordering another before returning to her previous position. "So, I know what happened to Adam, what happened to her? God smite her or something?"

The man chuckled at the woman's amused question but replied all the same, "Actually, although translations differ, she apparently went on to be the first demon, basically giving birth to all creatures of the night, much like yourself."

"So, she's like….my relation somehow." 

The priest watched the woman rotate in her chair and come back around with another drink in her hand. "Eventually, she joined with Lucifer…"

"Satan, eh?"

"Yes. As you know it." He then changed the conversation, asking a question that had been on his mind since this inane conversation began. "Why are you indulging in such a menial conversation?"

She shrugged and took another sip of her drink, leading the man to wonder if vampires could get drunk or not. "Nothing really, my reason will sound silly to someone like you."

"Indulge me." He said with a hint of sarcasm, remembering something she had said to him earlier.

She sighed, "It's just been a really long time since I've had a decent conversation that wasn't about work." The statement, very simple was a rather large blow to the priest. He was somehow stunned silent as his gaze traveled back. She noticed the man's shocked expression and said nothing at first. She then asked, her voice very quiet, "Bet you were expecting an answer like that were ya?" 

He then looked at her and asked another question, "Why?" 

"Why…. what?" 

"Why did you become one? Surly you weren't forced, if you were forced you wouldn't be trying to eliminate your own kind. You would've been forced to embrace the 'normal' lifestyle of a vampire to survive. You chose to become one of them…why?"

She twirled the drink glass in her hand for a little while, leaving a silence as the two watched the people in the crowd. People were dancing to the music, having fun, flirting with the opposite sex, having a drink or two. Seras and Father Perigrin merely watched all this, now both preoccupied with their own thoughts.

Eventually Seras came up with an answer. "Because I wasn't ready to die yet." She said softly, but her voice didn't lack conviction. Knowing the man was looking at her, waiting for her to continue she added, "I was only nineteen when I died. There was so much left to do and to see." _ Why am I telling him this? _She couldn't find an answer to that question as she took a sip of her drink and added, "Maybe I was just scared. When I was merely a fledgling vampire, everything scared me. The thought of me drinking blood terrified me; I didn't have any type of nourishment for several months in an attempt to retain my humanity. I was always scared…" She said, her voicing trailing off as she remembered those memories. _ Must be the alcohol, I'm actually reminiscing outside of my mind. Maybe it's just the night air that reminds me of that night in Cheddar…_She then smiled, albeit a sad smile. "Fat lot of good it did for me. I wanted to live, but I've done nothing close to that." She took another drink and continued, realizing that the man was still staring at her. "Father, I never had anyone other than my master to look up to. After he was sealed, I thought things might get better, but many things still elude me, and I know they will always elude me." She closed her eyes as she leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "I've never loved, nor felt the warmth of a man's body next to my own. When I go out hunting during the winter, I realize I don't breath, and that my body doesn't have a pulse. 

The man didn't say anything else for a while, and once again both enemies went into a thoughtful silence. Finally, his voice curious and thoughtful, "Why don't you just end it then if you're suffering so much?" She thought about the man's question and a memory came to mind. A conversation she had overheard - between her master and Walter.

_"Giving up is what kills people. When humans refuse to give up they earn the right to live." _

"Then I'd be giving up." She said with a smile. She turned to the priest and said, "You were right with what you said before, it was my choice and I have accepted it, even knowing that when I am the last I must put a bullet in my heart." She then cocked an eyebrow and asked in an out of place amused tone, "I thought Catholicism looked down on suicide. I was told it was a sin."

The man chuckled and thought to himself, _This one is amusing. I wish I could've met her before she had become one. _"True, but in a sense you're already dead so technically its not really suicide."

"You're using sophistry again father. Somehow it suits you though."

"Thank you." He said, allowing himself a smile for the first time that night. He then coughed and took out a small vial. Seras recognized it as cold medicine and watched the man ask the bartender for a glass of water. She watched him in silence, a tiny amused grin on her face as he finally noticed that she was watching him. "Best thing the doctors have come up with for the common cold." He remarked as if bored. 

"Eh, and I thought science and Catholicism didn't get along together." She remarked sarcastically. She sighed and breathed out again. "You know, I'm not a bad person." There was a long pause and then Seras asked the man, "Hey, does division thirteen know what's going on in this city?" 

He looked at her in genuine confusion. The sudden change in demeanor of the conversation threw the priest into a new type of confusion. He also felt the spite that he had before the conversation coming back. _ Now what does this woman want? I've already delayed her execution for this meaningless jabber._ "This is not our territory, its out of our jurisdiction so to speak."

"Father, there is also a saying that liars burn in hell. You aren't suited for such things. I know that division thirteen has had people in this country for almost a century infringing on our territory."

The man laughed derisively. "Your territory merely exists within our own. You have no base to order us."

"So, then you know what's happening in this area?" She asked, not feeling insulted at the man's insinuation in the least.

The man sighed. _Why am I still indulging in this farce? Matthew, pull your blade and send this demoness to hell._ "Other than the usual increasing number of vampires, not much. Why do you ask? Granted you Royal Protestant Knights are nothing compared to us but even you should know of this."

She shrugged her shoulders and said "That's where you're wrong father." She then hugged herself, feeling cold all of a sudden. "You should have felt it by now. Something is coming from the shadows. It still stays beyond the reach of my senses but it leaves the lingering feeling of uncertainness and feels as if an icy hand has my heart within its grasp." 

"Your heart has run cold for a long time Nosfaratu." 

"I know."

She smiled lightly at the man's unrestrained hatred of her that had reappeared and was about to say something else before another sudden headache hit her. She grabbed her head lightly and moaned to herself. "What's wrong blood sucker? You need some aspirin?" He asked derisively, snorting at her.

Seras grit her teeth and stood up slowly. _I really don't need this shit right now._ She left money on the table for the drinks and turned to the priest. "Father, let's get this over with. Meet me on the roof, we don't want to attract any more attention do we?" She then walked out of the club, leaving the priest there to finish his drink. After a few moments he finished the drink off and walked out, leaving the nightclub to resume its normal state.

~

"Are you ready to face the abyss, foul creature of darkness?" Perigrin asked, reaching into his long coat. 

Seras merely stood at the other end of the roof, her fingers in her coat pockets as her thumbs rested on top. She looked at him through the purple lenses and wondered why this man chose the path he did. _ Its not like something you decide as a child. Surly he had other choices, even remain a normal priest instead of one of the elite from section thirteen._ She lowered her head slightly and sighed. She then asked, as if bored "Hey, are you strong?"

She looked up to see that the man had drawn a short sword in his right hand, and an old fashioned pistol in his left, one that seemed as if it dated back to the days of muskets and muzzle loaders. The sword was hanging vertically downwards, just resting the in the man's hand. He held the pistol behind his head with his left in a nonchalant pose. He caught her surprised look and laughed. "Don't be scared yet blood sucker, I haven't even started to attack yet. Rest assured, you will be at peace before the night ends."

Seras stared at the man for a moment and then burst out laughing, as if the man had made a hilarious joke. She actually had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Perigrin raised an eyebrow at the behavior, but said nothing. He leveled the pistol to aim at the woman's head, but did not fire. She finally stopped laughing and placed her hand back in her pocket, all the while smiling like a child. "Father, have you ever heard the phrase 'Cheng yi jing bai'?" Seeing the man's confused reaction, her smile dropped slightly, but remained on her face as she explained. "It's a Chinese proverb that means 'to kill one to warn a hundred others.' Her smile dropped completely as she asked a direct question. "Who is the current leader of section thirteen?"

The man, not really sure where the woman was going with, replied "The honorable Father Vinelli."

The woman raised an eyebrow in astonishment, "Lukas Vinelli?" The man nodded, astonished that the woman knew the man's full name. She grabbed her chin and thought for a moment. "So he's running Iscariot right now. I haven't seen him in… twenty years is it?" She asked herself, leaving the current hunter to his own devices. The man decided enough was enough, raised his gun at the woman. Seras' eyes flickered once and she tilted her head to the left by about an inch. She felt the bullet whiz past her head and was pretty sure it had taken a few hairs with it. She let go of her chin and smirked. "You're disobeying orders aren't you?"

The man's eyes widened and he took a step back in shock. _ How did she know? Can she read my mind, no that's not possible. My magic prevents such things._ "My orders are to exterminate the undead. I'm doing nothing of the sort."

Seras laughed once more and then glared at the Iscariot. Her voice ran cold and he could swear the glare she gave him froze his blood, at least for a moment. "Bullshit. Father Vinelli knows better than to dispatch hunters out for me." Seeing the man's shocked look, she continued her explanation. "Venelli and his partner came after me about…twenty, maybe twenty-five years ago." Seras then replaced her hand in her pocket again and continued. "Remember that proverb? They were the last real Iscariots I had to deal with; I killed his partner and left him hanging off a cross in the middle of London central. I killed him as a warning and I let Venelli go." She chuckled as she remembered that fight. "Lady Hellsing scolded me after that one. Since then other than the occasional glory bound fool like yourself, no one from Iscariot has dared attack me."

"You monster!" The man cried out as he slowly reloaded the pistol, realizing that the woman wasn't done with her little speech. He was about to raise the weapons and dive into the attack, "Prepare to die again!"

"I strongly recommend you holster those weapons father." She said, her voice ice cold. It stopped the man in his tracks as he internally shivered at that voice. "Everyone who has raised a weapon against me since I learned to fight for myself has died." She watched the man's brow knit into one of concentration, and he raised the sword into an attacking stance. She saw the man's eyes and realized that talking was a moot point as of now. She placed her hands on the back of her head and sighed. She then removed her sunglasses and placed them inside a pocket inside her coat. 

Both figures on top of the roof glared at each other, neither wanting to make a move. The man aiming his pistol, yet somehow knowing that no matter how he fired, he wouldn't hit. The woman merely standing there, cracking her knuckles loudly, but making no other movements except to perhaps crack her neck. Once again, they locked gazes then in an instant, the never ending rivalry between Iscariot and Hellsing began anew…


	8. Chapter 7

            Sorry for the long delay. Since Winter break ended and I went back to school, I've had very little time to work on this. Besides doing my normal load of course work, I also mentor a nearby high school's FIRST robotics team. This in conjunction with my current club activities have slowed this story down to almost a standstill.

            As for the future of this story, I'll work on it when I get the change but updates, when they occur will be very, VERY slow compared to the rate I pumped this out during winter break.

            I'm not very good at fight scenes but I hope those who are reading can enjoy this chapter. Once again, sorry for the wait.

**Chapter 7: The Holy Sword of Catholicism **

"To War, to war! Let loose the battle cries and raise thy banners high! To war!"

            Battles are something that people usually associate with wars, military and death. In fact, it is through these wars that the myth of battle being a beautiful thing is continued. People often recount about great war heroes, telling inspiring stories about their bravery, tactics, cunning, or other such attributes, sparking the imagination of children and young men and women alike. Visions of grandeur distort the truth behind the true face of battle; the face of death. The scene of a man screaming in fear as a blade is shoved through his chest; the cry of a woman as she watches her husband gunned down in front of her. People dream to live, and die like warriors with that foolish ideal, not realizing that truth death in a battle means to die, surrounding by your enemies and to be forgotten as you watch them with your remaining strength move on to the next enemy. Such an idiotic ideal…

~

            The young crowd of the popular London nightclub exited as the placed closed down for the night, their minds at peace, in not a little messed up due to the alcohol. Not a single one of them thought to look above them, towards the roof of the establishment. Nor did they seem to hear the loud yells and the sound of metal hitting stone. They merely walked home, with thoughts of how bad their hangovers were going to be. None saw the two dark figures jumping from rooftop to rooftop, bright flashes of sparks trailing after their figures.

            Seras watched as the Iscariot dodged the fist she threw and parried with his blade in his right hand. She watched as the edge of the sword flew towards the left side of her face and she twisted her head to avoid having her eye impaled. She grabbed the man's arm as the blade passed by her head and she threw him over her shoulder, a technique she had learned back in her days as a police officer. Perigrin merely flipped in mid aid and landed on his feet in a crouching position, glaring back at her with a maniacal smile. Seras frowned at the man's reaction, and braced herself as the man fired his pistol once and then charged back towards her with his blade. She shifted to the right as the bullet passed by her head and then fell into a crouching position as Perigrin took a horizontal slash at her head. The blade passed overhead, and she flipped backwards in retaliation, her right foot connecting with the underside of the man's jaw. He stumbled backwards from the blow, his hand instinctively coming up to his chin to make sure it wasn't broken. 

            Seras didn't allow the man to breathe as she ran towards him, intent on finishing this battle quickly. _He's just all the other pups who have dared challenge me. You can't teach an old organization new tricks._ She jumped in the air and came down on Perigrin's position, her foot extended. He dove to the right as she impacted with the ground, causing the top of the building to cave in slightly under the force of the attack. She quickly turned and released a backhand with her left hand, catching the man as he raised his arm to block. Seras' eyes widened in shock as she heard the man's forearm snap. Perigrin grit his teeth in agony, but slashed at Seras with his sword, catching the end of her coat as she jumped backwards. 

            He continued his assault, slashing and stabbing with his blade. Seras found that he was quicker than she had expected and found herself reaching for her weapons. She then decided against it, stepping forward around a thrust and grabbing the man's right wrist. She was about to twist it in an easy attempt to shatter it when he raised his pistol and fired at the hand grabbing him. She removed her hand quick enough to avoid having her hand shot off, but received a kick to the ribs for her trouble. She stumbled back a bit, caught off guard by the man's surprising strength. Her eyes narrowed, _It__ seems that Iscariot has increased their training for their operatives. He's stronger than he looks. Her right hand twitched, the symbols on her gloved hand glowing red somewhat before she grabbed it with her left, as if attempted to calm herself. She raised her eyes as she heard the man's battle cry and dove to the side to avoid some thrown blades. They stuck into the ground, three small silver daggers in a line. She cursed under her breath as she realized that the thrown knives were only meant as a distraction. Perigrin laughed as he slashed at her face, catching the vampire off guard for a moment's weakness. She moved as fast as she could, the blade only catching a small piece of her cheek. She grit her teeth, suppressing the urge to scream. The pain was only for an instant though, as the scratch healed almost immediately after it had registered in her mind. The woman lashed out, her hand flying towards the man's chest at an insane speed. _

            He merely jumped backwards and laughed. He raised his sword and gun into a defensive position and mocked her, "So, is this all the great weapon of the Royal Protestant Knights has? I guess I had my hopes up for nothing." He said derisively, flipping the sword in his hand once before dashing in again. Seras hadn't moved since her last attack, in fact her arm was still outstretched, fingers extended in the stabbing stance. Her eyes were lowered and the man attempted to capitalize on that. He brought the blade down in an attempt to sever the arm that was outstretched. He smiled as she saw the blade inches away from the vampires arm, which still hadn't moved.

            In an instant, the forward moment of the blade stopped. His eyes widened as he saw that Seras' outstretched hand was holding the silver blade. Smoke came from the gloved hand along with a strange, yet soft sizzling noise. _Impossible! Vampires are weak to silver, her hand should have been cut away! He looked to the vampire in complete shock, realizing that she was staring at him. Her lips twisted into a sadistic grin, "You underestimate me, Judas priest!" She said as she pushed up with her hand, catching the man off guard.           She then attacked, sweeping out the man's legs. As he fell backwards, she rose with a dropkick, connecting with the man's face. _

            Large motion, insane speed, full-contact, maximum impact.

            The man's body flew up into the air, but Seras did not pursue at that moment. She merely watched as the man flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet a few feet away, his weapons raised again. Seras' mind was deliberating something in her mind then it seemed to say, _What_ the hell? Let's go wild._ Perigrin, mistaking the hesitation for an opening, fired his gun again. The shot was aimed at Seras' chest, a slight change from the usual head shots he had been taking. The small bullet struck Seras' left shoulder, but it didn't seem to bother her as she slowly approaching the man, her eyes closed. He watched in slight amusement and distaste as the wound on her shoulder began to heal before his eyes. _

            _Wretched creatures.__ Alas, this one will be at peace tonight. Amen. He quickly reloaded his pistol and raised it, waiting for an opening. He knew if he fired at her head that she would avoid it, so he waited as she slowly walked towards him. That was a mistake, he would soon come to realize as she paused for a moment and opened her eyes. He almost took a step back at the ferocity that shone within those ruby lenses. __Oh shit. He fired as he realized that he may have awakened a sleeping beast._

            That's when Seras dashed in for the attack, her mind no longer taking any time to register thoughts. The bullet passed by her face, taking a clip of hair, not that she cared anymore. She was in her element, the heat of battle against a strong opponent. Throughout her un-life, she had constantly lost herself when fighting against strong enemies, allowing her conscious mind to shut down as the rest of her body went into battle-mode. A feral grin crossed her face, reminiscent of an angry beast's. Her hand shot out as she neared the priest, a thrust of the hand that could've easily been sent through the vital area had it not been avoided. She followed the attack up with a roundhouse kick, catching the man in the left side, knocking towards the left, almost off the building. 

            The man's body bounced twice before he was able to rise to a crouching position, firing off a shot from his pistol as well. Seras ceased her onslaught to avoid the bullet, her now-returning conscious mind wondering when he had gotten the time to reload the old-fashioned weapon. She then crouched low and dove towards the enemy, tackling him as their bodies flew off the roof towards another building. They impacted against a boarded up window and rolled across the floor, dust being disturbed as they wrestled on the ground. Seras got the upper hand as she grabbed the man's neck and threw him across the room, having his body impact against it. He fell forward slightly, leaving a small, spider-web like crater against the wall and began to breath heavily. Seras let a small smile grace her face, "Still want to fight? I'll let you go if you want to run; tonight has been very entertaining, so I guess that will work as your reward."

            The man rose to his full height, a look of pure fury on his face. "You underestimate me hell-spawn. I still have yet to exert myself." His face then twisted into a maniacal grin as he added, "And now **I have the advantage!" He reached into his coat with his left hand and began mumbling under his breath, "Si quis non amat Dominium lesum sit anathema maranatha. Amen." Within moments, dozens of pieces of holy scripture flew forth from the man's coat. The papers impacted upon the walls of the room, sticking against the wall through some unseen force. Seras grit her teeth as the holy magic began to affect her. _Damn, I haven't seen that trick in about seventy years. The man withdrew his pistol and fired at her, "Now you won't be able to use outdated sorcery or any of your other unholy tricks."_**

            The bullet struck Seras' shoulder, causing her to scream in pain, but she focused more on the approaching clergyman. He brought his blade down upon her, his intent to kill magnified by the fanatical expression on his face. She reacted without thinking, reaching both hands into her coat.

            Perigrin paused in absolute confusion. He stared, dumbfounded at the scene that was taking place. To an outside observer, it would appear as if the two pistols in the vampire's hands materialized from nowhere. Perigrin knew better, he saw her reach into her coat and withdraw them, but that was not what stunned him. The part of the action that shocked the man was the speed that she had acted with. Not to mention the fact that the vampire had used the end of one of the guns to stop the movement of his holy blade, while the end of the other gun was placed against his throat. _Fast… he thought as his eyes twitched as he stared down at the vampire. "Big guns…" He remarked as if amused._

            Seras took a deep breath, realizing that she had bought herself some time. Her reaction had surprised even her, not that she was questioning it. She had brought the Jackal up to block the blade with her left hand while her right had raised the Cassul to the man's neck. Her fingers twitched on the triggers, somehow not yet ready to end this man's life. She spoke, her voice somewhat cold and distant, "You still want to fight?" _Not like this position will change an Iscariot's view on how to act._

            The man scoffed and said, "Of course. I can't be killed by the likes of you." 

            Seras frowned at the man's bravado. "Then you die." She pulled the triggers and watched in detached interest as the sword was blown out of the man's right hand, spinning until it hit the wall next to one of the stuck parchments. She didn't bother to look at the man's head; she knew what it would look like.

            She slowly walked over to the blade connected to the wall, holstering the Cassul as she did. She lowered the Jackal and pulled out the blade from the wall, holding it in her right hand. _It was a pity. For a human he was strong, not anywhere near the level of __Anderson__, but he could be if he had lived. She examined the blade curiously, looking it over as she moved it around in the air in front of her face. She paused upon seeing an engraving on the hilt of the blade. She frowned once, _The Church Paladin? _Realization dawned on her too late. She felt something moving behind her, something with hostile intentions. She turned around to receive several small knives to the body, right arm and neck. She screamed in repressed agony as she dropped the blade to the ground and hopped away, crouching down to one knee in pain. _Careless…__

            "I said I couldn't be killed by the likes of you, vampire." Peregrin said, a small bruise on the front of his neck. The mark of one of the Cassul's bullets could be seen clearly. He slowly bent over and picked up his sword with his right hand as he brought his left up with the pistol to fire. "Surprised blood sucker?"

            Seras grunted in pain as she pulled out the blade in her neck. She tossed the knife aside, her blood coating the blade and splashing off as the blade bounced against the ground. She switched the Jackal to her other hand as she said, "Not really. I expect it of Knights of the Church Paladin." The man's eyebrow twitched in a mixture of annoyance and surprise, causing the woman to smile despite the pain that racked her body. She pulled out two of the other knives as she continued to speak. "Don't act so surprised. Didn't they tell you who killed the first of you Iscariot regenerators." She stood up proudly, blood seeping from her slowly closing. Three blades still were impaled through her legs, two through her midsection. Another blade was stuck through her right elbow, hindering the movement of the joint. "Alexander Anderson was the first Iscariot that I killed. He hounded me as a fledgling, and when I was finally able to fight for myself, I helped myself to his blood." She licked her lips, as if mocking the priest and added, "I have found that the blood of you foolish Iscariots is quite tasty. Lord Hellsing doesn't mind either, since I dispose of your bodies before you turn into servant vampires. As long as I don't attack innocent people or create others like me, he could care less."

            The man snarled, "You are a monster. Die!" He fired the pistol while charging. Seras twisted her right arm so that the bullet struck the blade, snapping it in half while she pulled it out from the hilt. She executed a quick side dodge as she pulled one of the blades from her leg out. She then tossed the gun back to her left hand as she reached for the other with her right. She fired the Jackal as she pulled the Cassul out of her coat. The bullet missed its target; the priest proving to be quite nimble with his movements. Seras brought the Cassul up to fire another shot when the man doubled his speed suddenly, catching her off guard. He came down upon her head with his sword, intending to finish it right then and there by slicing her in half. She reacted with speed that once again surprised herself, bring both of her weapons up to block the blade. She crossed the barrels of the two handguns, forming an 'X' at the top. The blade was wedged between the two weapons, but this did not disturb the madman as he laughed at her attempt to block. He quickly raised his pistol to her chest and fired, sending a sliver of silver directly into her chest.

            Seras screamed out in pain, blood flying forth from her mouth as she fell to the ground. _Damn, I've underestimated this one._ Even with pain rattling her senses she detected the swipe of the holy weapon and rolled out of the way. She cursed under her breath, _Damn it. My movements are slowing down. She performed a backwards somersault and rolled to her feet and tried to dash from the room. She reached the doorway  but felt her body thrown backwards as if zapped with a immense surge of electricity. She coughed again, blood flowing freely and soaking through her clothing. A trail of crimson blood trickled from her mouth as she tried to breath in a less frantic way. "You can't escape hell spawn. I'm sure Satan is waiting for you in hell, let's not keep that fallen angel waiting." Came the cocky voice of Father Perigrin. _

            Seras coughed once more, than said weakly as she rose to her feet. "You…don't know much…about women, do you?" Perigrin was about to dismiss those as her final words until something caught his eye. She had removed the other blades from her legs and was standing with her own strength. Her eyes flashed as a smile crossed her face. "We like to keep men waiting. It's a habit that women share; one that is appreciated by some, hated by most." She then raised both guns and emptied her guns clips at the man.

            Perigrin was caught off guard by the attack and felt his body being pushed back as the hailstorm of silver pelted his body. _She still can fight? Those blades were pure silver, cleansed in holy water. She shouldn't be able to fight anymore with those wounds._ His body hit the wall as began to dig in as he gritted his teeth from the pain. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of torment, the firestorm halted and Perigrin watched in disdain as the woman ejected the two empty clips and reloaded them in a matter of seconds. She swished up some blood and spat it out to the side, then spoke to her opponent. "Get up. I know that wasn't enough to kill you." She said, her voice ice cold. Despite the deadly tone, the man grinned as he took a few steps from the wall, his face a mixture of amusement and insanity.

            He dove back towards her with the speed of a demon, both of his hands grabbing the hilt of the sword. Seras saw the man's movements and unleashed another firestorm that would make even the flames of hell jealous. Most of the shots impacted upon the man, but nothing seemed able to stop his forward movement. Seras cursed under her breath as the man slashed with the sword, faster and with more force than before due to the double-handed grip. Seras once again used her guns to pushed the blade off, parrying as she retaliated with a kick aimed for the man's ribs. The man released the blade with his left hand to raise the arm to block then spun, the blade still in his right hand. The spin slash nearly took Seras' head off, causing her to step back and let loose some more fire, trying to gain some distance between her and her opponent. The man avoided several of the bullets, the rest catching him in neck and chest. It didn't hinder his forward momentum as he dashed towards the woman. A frown covered his face as the woman continued to avoid his attacks and retaliate with her own. Upon receiving a backhanded attack from the Jackal's butt-end, the man snarled as he reached into his pocket with his free hand. He withdrew the small crystal bottle, uncorked the top and sprayed the contents out in front of him.

            Seras snarled in pain as the liquid hit her in the eyes, face and neck. She screamed in agony at the burning sensation that had covered her. _Holy water?__ God damn it! Shape up __Victoria__, you've given this one too much leeway as it is! She tried to wipe the liquid away, but felt the burning sensation on her forearm as she wiped it away as well. She blinked twice in a vain attempt to clear her eyes and instantly regretted it as some more of the holy water slipped closer towards her pupils. _

            Behind the haze of burning pain, Seras could tell that the priest was mocking her suffering at the effects of the holy water. Without her sight, she felt him moving towards her, bringing his blade up, ready to strike. She cursed loudly, no longer caring if she showed weakness. _God damn, I haven't had holy water used against me in a long time. I forgot how much this crap hurts._ She slowly opened one eye, trying vainly to look for her attacker.  She could hear the man mumbling a prayer out and closed her eye and concentrated. She realized that the man was speaking in latin and translated the words as she heard them, "May the blessing grace of our father grant you a second change and save you from your existence of sin. Amen." Perigrin then raised the blade up a little higher and then struck at the woman. Seras focused on his movements without the use of her eyes and reacted in a last ditch effort.

            Perigrin was startled as the woman's hands shot up in an attempt to grab his wrists in order to stop the attack. He let out a small grin as he slightly altered the direction of the blade to try and bypass her block. He didn't expect her right hand to move as well, as if sensing the change in direction. The blade didn't strike the vampire as he had expected. As the blade came down, the woman tilted her body to the left, and the blade merely sliced the woman's hand. Crimson blood seeped out from the nasty wound, soaking the white glove. Seras screamed out in pain again and clutched her right hand to her chest, as if trying to hold the appendage together. Perigrin looked the creature over as he raised the blade to strike again. Her face and eyes had been badly burnt from the water blessed by the almighty, leaving dark marks around the eye sockets and down the cheeks in the shape of lines from the water. Two knives were stuck in the woman's midsection, both ends sticking out her back. She clutched her bloody right hand tightly with her left, bringing it close to her chest as if she was afraid it would burst apart on her if she let go. The bullet wound on her chest was still bleeding heavily, the front of her coat and shirt soaked with her blood. Perigrin spoke one more time, "Accept this fate Seras Victoria, and I pray that the father will accept you into his grace. Amen." He then sent the blade down with enough force that would have caused a telephone pole to split in half.

            As the blade came down, there was a noticeable change in the atmosphere of the room. Perigrin himself noticed it, but the change had been so quick he didn't have any time to really react to it. As the blade approached the woman's head, Perigrin felt his arm buckle before it hit. In fact, it seemed as if he was in fact connecting with something right before the fatal blow. His arm continued downward, his hand holding on tightly to the hilt of the blade. The rest of the sword however, ceased all movement and the blade cracked at the top of the hilt as the sword struck some unseen barrier. Perigrin jumped back, holding the hilt up in front of his face in disbelief. 

            It was then that he truly noticed the change. The room's temperature had dropped drastically, as if someone had turned on the world's strongest air conditioner. Perigrin gasped when he realized that he could see his breath. _What in the lord's name? What is going on? He frantically thought as the sound of something burning amidst this cold and desolate feeling could be heard behind him. He turned around to see that the holy parchments that had been attached to the walls had all burst into flames. Within moments, all that remained of the magic canceling barrier were piles of ash. Perigrin's mind kicked in, realizing what was happening. He noticed the overflow of dark power from the room and knew that it was the cause of this change and its effects. _

            His eyes shot back to Seras to see that she was crouching down with her eyes closed. She had her head lowered, but she still held her right hand in her left. The first thing Perigrin truly noticed was that the wounds on her chest, legs and face were all gone, as if never there to begin. Then he felt it, the outlet of the dark power that seemed to envelope the entire room. His eyes were drawn towards her left hand, or rather the white glove that covered it. His eyes widened as he saw the archaic symbols on the backside of the glove glowing red. _No, it can't be! _ He watched as the symbols' glow increased in intensity, reaching an almost pain light. Seras held up her right hand, showing the tattered remains of the other glove. Perigrin's breath caught in his throat as he realized what was happened. That was when Seras opened her eyes.

            Matthew Perigrin never saw what hit him. His body was thrown against the wall, shattering the wall completely before his body continued to fly towards the next wall. His body broke through that wall before his rather rough landing. His body bounced one before hitting the third wall, which stopped his movement. He coughed out blood as he tried to stand up but felt something holding his left shoulder. He turned and immediately he wished he hadn't as a fist caught the man in the jaw, sending his body tumbling towards the wall to the left of the one he had hit earlier. As the dust cleared, he sat against the wall, trying to piece together what had just happened. That overpowering feeling; that coldness that felt like the hand of death itself. It was then when he heard the voice; the voice of a one hundred and thirty year old woman, the voice of the opponent that had just flattened him out with a powerful right cross. "You're a fool Father Perigrin. You yourself engineered your own destruction with that last attack."

            He looked up to see that the woman was standing before him, both pistols drawn and aimed at him. He sighed inwardly, thinking to himself _I guess this is it. At least she won't turn me into one of them, at least if what she said before was true. He then noticed the look of pure fury on her face, her eyes burning with the intensity of a thousand suns. "Go to hell vampire." He said, spitting out blood at her. He never saw the kick coming as her foot struck him directly in the face, kicking his body through the wall her was sitting against. When he realized what had happened, the pain registered and he screamed out in pain for the first time in what felt like decades to the man. He felt the vampire approaching his dormant form, walking through the hole his body had just made in the wall. She stopped in front of him, his guns resting loosely in her hands. Even though Perigrin had been granted his amazing regenerative properties to fight the undead, he realized that he had lost feeling in his arms from the last few blows, as intense as they were. Finally he asked a question, one that he realized might be his last. "How?"_

            A simple question, yet often ambiguous with its answer. Seras merely glared down at the man, her eyes showing the internal debate whether to kill him now or to drag it out as punishment for her earlier pain. Finally she spoke, "You undid my seal. That's why." She held up her left hand to illustrate. The glowing red symbols on the glove were gone, leaving only a white cloth glove around her hand. Perigrin's eyes shot to her other hand and noticed that the symbols had disappeared from there as well. 

            He weakly asked another question, his voice coming out rather weak. "You… were sealed? During the fight?"

            She nodded once, very slowly. "When I was trained, it was discovered that I had a reservoir of dark power with me. Probably due to my master's blood. However, at that time I was still unable to control my dark powers very well. Using the same sort of witchcraft that the Hellsing family used on my masters, I forged these seals to restrain that power from leaking through. Now I can use those powers, yet I refrain from doing so because they cause quite a strain on my body."

            The man then began to laugh. It wasn't an amused laugh, one that would be heard after telling a good joke or something of the like. Nor was it a laugh of insanity, the last thing people would recall from a lunatic. No,  this laugh was one that contained nothing save pure irony. "So because of my overzealous attack, I made you stronger than I can possible imagine."

            "Yes, you did." She said coldly as she fired both guns into the man's chest. His cried out in pain, yet no sound came from his mouth. The pain was too intense, too strong for him to make any sort of sound. He then watched as the woman kicked open the folds on his coat to reveal his remaining blades. They were all shorter than the sword he used, he still as deadly. She bent over and grabbed a few of them and stabbed them into his hands, lefts and neck within moments after grasping them. His body was racked with pain as he could feel his blood leaving his wounds. He felt himself losing his mind to the pain and knew that soon he would lose consciousness from the wounds. 

            He knew that this wouldn't kill him, not many things could kill one such as him. However, he knew that the woman was far from being done with him, the finale of his punishment being his death by her fangs. He watched as she bent down and brought her face very close to his own. He would have given anything to have been able to stab her right then and there, but fate is never so kind. He focused his eyes on the ceiling past her and said quietly, "You've won blood sucker. Take the spoils of war."

            Seras merely looked at the man, a mixture of interest and disdain covering her beautiful visage. _I should take his blood, for all the trouble he has caused me. It would send a warning to the rest of Iscariot as well. _Seras then grabbed her head in pain as another head ravaged her delicate mind. _God damn it! Not again…_ She then pulled away from the man's face and rose to her feet. She turned to walk away and said to the man, her voice no longer the cold or haunting tone that had been prevalent within the last intense few moments. "Father, thank you for the lovely conversation earlier. I will take my leave now."

            Perigrin couldn't believe his ears. _I don't believe it, more lies and deceit._ "Don't mock me you creature of darkness. I know that vampires don't spare their enemies." He paused when he saw no reaction and added, "You know that if you don't kill me I'll just come back to kill you. There is no mercy for creatures of the dark."

            She responded without turning around, "Yes, I know."

            "Then why?"

            She turned and gave the man a small smile, one that didn't really have any warmth, but one that spoke more than words could. "I never said we were enemies." She then looked over the man's wounds, watching them slowly heal around the blades, much slower than her own regenerative rate. "Besides, with those wounds I'd say that we're even." She paused to watch the man's confused look with amusement and continued, "Besides, like I said before, something is coming. Unlike my boss, I have no problems with Iscariot being here to eliminate the dark forces. Something tells me that both our groups will need us in the coming days, and I'm not even sure that it will even be enough." 

            The man spoke again, his voice weakening further, "Is it true?" Seras only nodded, then left the room without another word. Only then did the man allow himself to drift into the peaceful slumber that had been trying to overtake him.

~

            The green haired woman named Kylie watching through the small viewing portal she had conjured up using her magic. In her right hand, she held the shattered remains of a red jewel. Her eyes narrowed upon the image of Seras Victoria as she left the Iscariot hunter alive, although heavily wounded. The sight of the Iscariot's blood drove her vampire mind with hunger, but she knew better than to try taking advantage of this man. She had viewed the battle completely, knowing full well that the man was capable of regenerating. She had little to no doubt that the man would easily kill her if she tried to take his blood. _Iscariot is not as weak as Lorenz and the master believe. _Besides, if he was to disappear near here it would attract attention that we're not ready for yet. _She waved her left hand, causing the portal to close and she turned and began walking away from the seen. Before she vanished into the darkness of the shadows, she only thought one thing. _Lorenz will not be happy…__

_~_

            Seras walked into the dark alley with a frown on her face. She knew what she had to do, but she also knew that it would be rather…unpleasant to say the least. She entered the shadows and sighed in resignation. She reached into her coat and withdrew a pair of white gloves. She removed the damaged pair she was wearing and tossed them away into a nearby dumpster. She put the new gloves on and clasped her hands together, as if in prayer. Someone nearby would have heard the vampire mumbling quietly to herself, but none would be able to make out the words. In fact, even if they did, they wouldn't understand it. _I hope this spell still works. I haven't cast it for a century or so. _

            Her hands began to glow softly, as a dark blue color seemed to spread out across the gloves. The glow slowly increased in intensity until they had turned back to white suddenly. Seras held them up to her face to see the all too familiar archaic symbols of her private seal. _Here is comes…_

            Seras doubled over in pain, falling to her knees as she coughed out blood. She felt her wounds from before opening back up as the power that was keeping them sealed was now gone. She still was affected from the holy magic that Perigrin had used against her, and could feel pain that was not describable in a human tongue. _I hate those damn parchments!_

            It took the remainder of her strength to find a pay phone and call the Hellsing institution. She only said one thing into the receiver before hanging up. "Come get me." Twenty minutes later, a car showed up and drove her back to the manor. She passed out from the pain on the way back, not caring that she was bleeding all over the seat of the car.


	9. Chapter 8

Wow. Okay, so I didn't really get to work on this at all while at school for 2nd semester. Well I've been off for a few days and had half of this chapter sitting on my drive so I'd thought I'd start this up again. I finished this one up. 

Sorry for delay again. I have been working on several different stories simultaneously including two Evangelion fics, one Legend of Zelda Fic, one original story and I'm thinking of restarting my Nadesico one that is already 150+ pages in length. Well enough of that, nothing spectacular happens in this chapter, it was more of a set-up for things to come and for me to reclaim what little writing ability I have.

**Chapter 8: Soiled Hands**

"Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood."

It wasn't long before the car completed its journey to the Hellsing Manor with its injured passenger. Christopher waited patiently as the car pulled up, not really sure what to expect from the woman. Her phone call had left little doubt in their minds that she was hurt badly, and the accompanying call from the car that picked her up confirmed it. As the car slowed to a stop, he quickly walked over and opened the back door. He felt a chill go down his spine at the sight of the woman's bloodied body. _Good lord, most of that blood is hers too, isn't it?_ He quickly grabbed the woman and with help from the driver of the car, pulled her out. She seemed to have passed out but Christopher found her beginning to stir as he draped her arm around his shoulder. "Miss Victoria, can you hear me?"

Seras slowly opened her eyes and brought them up to look at him. She nodded weakly and with Christopher's help, began to slowly make their way towards the room that Seras had claimed as her own long ago. As they entered the manor, she asked weakly "Has everything been prepared?"

Knowing what the woman was referring to, he nodded. "Yes, we have made preparations for your recovery." Internally, he paled when he understood what that truly meant. Seras merely nodded in understanding as they continued the long and arduous trek towards her room.

After what seemed like an eternity, Seras found herself staring at her own door. She somehow shrugged her way out of Christopher's grasp. She tried to turn the door knob but to her dismay she found herself lacking the strength to do so. She shot a pleading glance to the elder man and he seemed to understand at once. He opened the door for her and gestured for her to enter. She took one step in but then halted again. "Christopher, seal this door for the next three days. Don't let me out for at least that long. Deliver my meals through the chute." She was referring to a small chute that was used in olden times to deliver meals to different floors. It consisted of a series of pulleys and a platform upon which one would rest the meal. 

Christopher didn't seem to understand at first but when he saw the crazed gleam in the woman's eyes, he didn't argue. Instead he followed her stare to the packets of medical blood that was resting on the table in her room. Seras slowly stumbled over to the table and grabbed a packet in her hands. Faster than the man could comprehend, it was opened and she was guzzling it like a man dying of thirst in the desert. Christopher shut the door at that, not really desiring to see the feeding frenzy that he was sure would come. He locked it from the outside then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cellular phone. He dialed a few numbers then spoke into the device, "We need a level four seal around Victoria's room. See that it gets taken care of immediately."

"Understood sir." Came the cold voice. Christopher cut the call and placed the phone back in his pocket. He took one last glance at the door behind him and wondered to himself, _What the hell happened to you Victoria?_ He then began to walk to Lord Hellsing's office to issue his report.

~

Inside the bedroom, Seras found herself being reducing to a ravenous creature, only intent upon feeding. She tore through several blood packets, her craving growing with each drop of the sweet liquid of life. The crazed gleam in her eyes had not vanished, if anything it had intensified. She paused for a moment to look over the large container of blood packets that had been left for her, a sickening grin coming to her face. It wasn't long before she was once again tearing into the packages with a hunger unmet by even a starving dog.

_Yes, feed on the sweet, sweet liquid. You are a monster, why not continue to act like one instead of hiding behind that innocent human visage you so desperately try to maintain. _Seras ignored the dark voice within her mind as she continued to feed. _This is your true nature Seras Victoria, the role of a hunter, of one who desires the blood of its enemies! Why do you even bother with this menial nourishment when you can be stalking the night like what you really are?_ The voice continued, growing louder with each passing moment.

Seras paused, an opened packet resting in her hand. She brought her other hand to her head in an attempt to stave of the bloodlust she was experiencing. _No, I only feed on this blood because I have to! I will not take humans as my prey!_ Her own mind's voice yelled back at the dark one that resided in her mind.

_Stop trying to deny what you are! You know what your body craves at this moment Victoria! It does not desire mere medical blood, it wants to feel the rush of the kill, to see the fear of a human before you sink your fangs into his neck. The rush of the blood as it travels from his body to yours!_

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up shut up!" Seras yelled out loud, not understanding that the conversation was taking place within her own mind. She threw the unfinished packet against the wall of her room in anger. Her eyes locked upon the splatter as it hit against the wall, slowly dripping down leaving a path of red. She found an unbearable urge to lick it up, to take in all she could of that flowing liquid. 

_Yes, you should not fight your base instincts Victoria. Its like that priest said, you are a parasite. There is no need for a conscience in a parasite, it merely gets in the way._

"YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" Victoria yelled at the voice, her delirium starting to reach it's full pitch. She was no longer aware of where she was, all she saw was darkness all around her. There was the sound of someone's voice, and upon listening she realized it was her own. She turned around to see the image of a young man and a young woman in a loving embrace. She gasped when she realized that the woman was her. All of a sudden, Seras saw her eyes in her image gleam and watching in horror as the image sunk its fangs into the man's neck. The sight of the blood caused her hunger to return tenfold, but she could not take it. "NOOOOOOOOO!" She yelled, flailing out with her right fist, sending it careening towards her blood-stained image. The image merely smiled at her rage as it vanished as her fist hit concrete. She began to lose it and continued to flair unmercifully at anything in her path. The dark voice returned, _You are a vampire! Not a dog to that human! You will feed on him, his wife, their daughter, everyone in the Hellsing manor! They are all your food!_

Needless to say, the other rooms' occupants were absolutely terrified at the sounds coming from that room for the rest of the night and day.

~

"Its grotesquely fascinating isn't it?" Lord Hellsing asked out loud as he watched the monitor. The screen displayed Seras' room, the vampire in question devouring the packets of blood in a frenzy that was often interrupted by random thrashing and what appeared like hallucinations from the way she seemed to yell in random directions. "Have you found out what happened to leave her in such a state?" He asked, looking away from the screen to his trusted confidant. 

Christopher shook his head no. "I do not know at the current time. Though I should mention this isn't the only time that something like this has happened. Whenever she comes back heavily wounded this happens." Christopher's eyes trailed to the screen to see the woman curling up on her bed with her face in her hands. She seemed to weeping, something that he would never expect from the cold female vampire when he was around her. "Losing that amount of blood causes a level of delirium in the vampire species. That and her quick replenishment of said blood raises that level of delirium. At least, that is how my predecessor explained it to me."

Lord Hellsing eyes went back to the screen morbid fascination of the scene unfolding. There were cameras in every room in Hellsing manor, all of which could be accessed by the leader of Hellsing if he so desired. There were however, no microphones so he in turn had no idea what the woman was mumbling, yelling or speaking to herself as she continued to feed on the packets of blood. "Is this safe Christopher? She seems to be losing it."

Christopher nodded. "We've erected a seal capable of restraining her inside. We'll send the packets of blood through the dining chute in order to keep her in there. She herself said to not let her out for at least three days." He then looked back to the leader of Hellsing, "In all honesty sir, the one that fears her the most is probably herself."

Lord Hellsing nodded in understanding. "Look through our files to see when this has happened with her before. See if there is anything we can do. I'll try talking to her through the video system in a day; let her calm herself down a bit first." Christopher nodded in understanding. Lord Hellsing then pushed a key on his computer and the screen went black. _She deserves some privacy, besides seeing her like that scares me._ "Has intelligence come up with anything in the port district yet?"

Christopher took the change of topic in stride and answered, "They believe that they have narrowed down the possible locations for a lab. We are waiting on the arrival of Agent Flynn before we proceed."

The leader of Hellsing raised his eyebrow at the mention of the Division S member. "Flynn? Why would he be the best choice for what will be required."

"Several of the other members are already working on separate cases. Agents Jin, Hawthorne, Masters and Tscholotzsky are doing field work in Ireland right now, keeping the Iscariots from violating the territorial agreement we have there. Sanders is training those recruits at the facility. Agents Lycos and Heckle are recovering from injuries. Flynn was the best available." 

"He tends to be.... noisy." Lord Hellsing said, his voice uncertain. Noisy was an understatement when referring to this agent, as he often caused explosions and general mayhem when he was assigned a job. Granted it was always completed but often drew too much attention. There were other problems as well.... _He's a fucking psychopath for one..._

Christopher understood the undertone taken by his leader. "I understand your concerns but he will merely be here to assist intelligence. He won't disobey direct orders."

Lord Hellsing sighed in resignation as he reached for the cigar case on his desk. He removed on of them and when to find a match when his old friend's hand came forth, holding a lit lighter. He lit his cigar and smiled, taking a puff of the cigar. "Speaking of Division S, how are things at the facility? Are there any promising recruits ready for Victoria's.... special touch?" He chuckled at his own wording, knowing that his old friend would understand.

"There is one recruit who is approaching a level to try and beat the third stage yes. Sanders believes that the recruit is ready. He also noted some who are ready to try stage two."

"Well, at least there is some good news." Lord Hellsing said with a smirk. The training that Division S recruits underwent was enough to drive a normal man to his breaking point. Many never made it through the intense training and were forced to quit, for their own safety. "What about Victoria's guinea pig, Lt. Griphten?"

Christopher didn't seemed to be shocked by the way he referred to the soldier. In fact, it was mostly due to Victoria's recommendation that the man was even being considered. "His arm is healing as scheduled. He should make a full recovery, according to the doctors, in ten days."

There was a long pause where silence ruled the room. William Hellsing found it uncomfortable and asked, "So, was she right about him?"

Christopher handed the leader a stack of papers. They were reports of FREAK exterminations for the past few weeks. "He's been doing as ordered, staying with the command unit while the soldiers do their jobs. According to the reports, he was only right about half of the time, but it seemed that over time that his record increased, even to the point where he was able to tell them where the bloodsuckers were in the building. It seems that Victoria was right about him."

Lord Hellsing nodded in understanding and placed the papers on his desk. _Ten days, thats a week after Draculina's self-imposed exile ends._ "Christopher, once his arm is healed, I want Victoria to take him to the facility. Have her do her thing there as well. Then we'll work on her future orders from there. 

"Has then been any progress in discovering the hacker that broke in?" He added as an after thought as he took another puff from his cigar.

"Not yet, though the firewall has been replaced with a more secure one."

"Have we finished the analysis of her file though? I'm curious why someone would take the risk to find out about her."

Christopher shrugged, "The file itself was nothing really important. It just listed her weight, height, etc. There were some notes pertaining to her history and her abilities, but nothing that someone who already knew about her would take the risk to find out. It truly is a mystery as to why someone would be interested in that file."

"I understand, well keep intelligence on that as well. Inform me when Agent Flynn arrives and tell him to report to my office. Also inform Lt. Griphten to pack his things for his trip in ten days." 

"Consider it done, Lord Hellsing." The man said with a bow as he excused himself from the room. The leader of the Hellsing organization merely watched his old friend leave and then his eyes trailed back to the reports that already cluttered his desk. _Perhaps I'll leave early and spend some more time with Alice, _he thought with a smile.

~

_Blood...._

_So much blood...._

_Blood everywhere...._

_Why is it so dark? Why am I so cold? Why does the sight of the blood excite me so?_

_It's because you are a monster._

_No! I'm still me, I'm still the same as I was before!_

_Are you really? Are you really that weak trembling woman who couldn't do anything on her own? The one who depended on everyone to come and save you from that which terrified you?_

_Shut up! It wasn't like that! I never WANTED anyone to save me! I could handle things on my own._

_Is that why you were almost turned by the perversion of that fallen priest? Was that the reason that you caved under his powers and almost allowed yourself to become his?_

_Silence! Who are you to tell me this? I was terrified then and everyday I become more terrified of what I've become. I am no monster!_

_Still trying to play the role of the victim aren't you Seras? What would your oh so benevolent master say if he saw you now?_

_You.... you shut up! God damn it all to hell, why can't you just leave me alone?_

_Because you're merely running from the truth. I am the part of you that you keep hidden from everyone, the part of you that craves that which you detest. Your bloodlust so to speak._

_Alucard... master would understand. He was always there when I needed him._

_Running away back to your master with your tail between your legs eh? If you do that, you will have failed him; your glorious master of darkness._

_.........._

_Nothing to say to that huh? _

_What do you want me to say? That I enjoy the blood? Fine, I do. I think its the best tasting elixir I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. I feel best after drinking that infernal plasma. Happy?_

_Yes. That's all you had to say. You just needed to accept that you have changed Seras, and that you cannot go back. _

_Can you leave me alone now?_

~

"Can you leave me alone now?" Seras asked softly in a trembling voice as she stared blankly at the ceiling from her bed. The room was dark and chilling as she lay on her back staring at the ceiling. She still wore her bloodied clothes from the battle with Perigrin. There were now numerous indentations on the concrete walls, from her earlier raving fits. She also noticed that the table that resided at the side of her room was in pieces on the other side of the room. She must have thrown in across the room the previous evening.

Seras was slowly regaining her sanity. This had happened before, her raving, her temporary insanity in regards to her own bloodlust. It was the reason she tried to never get into protracted battles. It was in a way like a hangover, granted she felt amazing when fighting a strong enemy and winning but the aftereffects were something that were difficult and painful to deal with. She sat up on her bed and walked over to where the dinner chute resides. She opened the small compartment to see that a iced bucket with a few packs of medical blood remained. _Thank you Christopher._

She was dimly aware that about a day and a half had passed since she had returned to Hellsing manor in her injured state. Apparently, replenishing her blood by feeding on the packets of medical blood and the her body's natural regenerative rate had helped immensely. She found herself staring the cut rags that she wore with a hint of disgust. She slowly walked over to her closet and withdrew some clothing to change into. She was about to change when she heard a loud beep coming from the side of the room. She looked over her shoulder to see the video screen flashing. She sighed and replaced the new clothing on her bed before walking over to the screen and hitting the accept button. "Victoria here."

She was greeted by the face of William Hellsing. He had a somewhat cross but still worried expression on his face. Victoria found it quite humorous for some twisted reason but only smirked. "What can I do for you Lord Hellsing?"

"Victoria.... are you alright now?" He asked, his voice uncertain. He seemed as if he was unsure how to phrase the question.

Seras knew what he was referring to though and did not take offense in the slightest. "Yes sir, I've regained most of my sanity. What can I do for you?"

'_Most' of your sanity?_ He seemed to breath out a sigh of relief and he noticeably relaxed. He regained his 'commanding' look and asked, "So what happened to you?"

Seras chuckled at the man's quick change in mannerisms. "I met up with someone from the Iscariot Order."

"Section Thirteen? Where?"

"Downtown London, in a nightclub. Apparently he was some overzealous fool who thought he could hunt me."

The man's lips twisted into a small grin, "It looked like he could more than hunt you, considering the state you came back to the mansion in."

Seras nodded in agreement, not at all insulted by the man's insinuation. "He was an interesting fellow. I vastly underestimated him, I paid for it. It's that simple." She paused for a little while and then said softly, "William, he was a Knight of the church Paladin..." She trailed off as she said it, knowing full well that he would understand.

William Hellsing blinked when she used his name, but let it slide at the news that she delivered. _So the Vatican has started to use those accused regenerators again. I thought the previous leader of section thirteen had banned those techniques._ "So they are active again... Is he still alive?"

Seras nodded with a smirk. "Only because I felt like it. I have a feeling that the Iscariots will be more helpful in the future."

"I see." Was all he said before a long silence followed. "We have narrowed down the possible locations of the lab in the port district, when you're out of there we'll have you working with Agent Flynn to search them."

Seras raised her hand to her head in annoyance, "Not that guy. Anyone but him, please."

The man chuckled through the video feed at her plight. "Sorry, he's the best we have available right now." He knew of the woman's hatred of that particular agent. He apparently tried to flirt with her every time he worked with her on a mission. And apparently she broke his wrist, arm or leg every time he did so.

"We really need to stop employing mentally unstable soldiers." Seras added under her breath, hoping that he wouldn't hear her. She apparently hadn't succeeded.

"Are you really in any position to say something like that?" He asked, no hint of amusement in his voice.

"I suppose not." She said glumly. "Anything else sir, I was about to change when you called."

"Your guinea pig will be healed in a week after you get out. Until then search out the port district with Flynn, then you and Lt. Griphten will go to the facility. Apparently there is a recruit there who is ready for stage three. Sanders says so at least."

Seras smirked in amusement, "Sanders often gives his men too much credit. I understand though. Is that all."

"Do you still intend to stay in there for another day and a half?" He asked, genuinely confused.

She sighed, "Even though it seems like I'm control right now I don't know how I would react to being around people. I might end up attacking someone without realizing it. This has happened before, it's best to wait."

"Understood." He replied, his official tone returning to replace that cordial one he had been using earlier. His features softened a bit and he added, "Get some more rest Victoria, you look like hell."

She laughed as she said, "You would look the same if a crazy Catholic had stabbed you numerous times." She then turned the screen off with a smile and went to change out of her damaged clothes.

~

Thomas Griphten stood outside the door to Draculina's room, still wondering to himself what exactly he was doing there. He had recently received his orders in regard to new training that he would be sent on as soon as his arm healed. What disturbed him about this was the fact that the female vampire in service to the Hellsing family would be giving him an escort. _First she tells me I have this strange power, now I have the feeling I'm being sent there because of her..._

He leaned against the wall and took in his surroundings for a moment. He stared at her door with great interest. It was a standard wooden door, like most of the other rooms in the Hellsing manor's basement, which in reality was the barracks for the Hellsing Soldiers. However, this door had been sealed with craft the likes of which made no sense to the young lieutenant. Archaic symbols were plastered on the floor in front of her door, the sides of the door, and upon the ceiling in front of it. Each marking seemed different and seamed to have been made in blood. Then upon the door hinges themselves there were paper tags, with different kinds of writing on them. He recognized them as either Chinese of Japanese kanji, but he was unable to tell which. There were a total of ten of these paper seals, each on marking a different place on the door. _I wonder if all that stuff would really hold if she truly wanted to break out._

Finally, after what seemed like too long of a wait, he walked over to her door and knocked on it. There was a sound of someone moving around but there was no attempt to open the door, nor did Griphten expect any. Finally, a feminine voice asked, "What is it?"

Griphten coughed once. "It's Lt. Griphten."

Somewhat surprised to hear the voice of her guinea pig, as Lord Hellsing had begun to call the soldier, Victoria sat down on the floor in her room and leaned against the wall next to the door. "Ah."

Not really thinking through how he should continue, he asked a question with a hint of humor in his voice, "Care to explain to me how I got transferred for training in some unit I've never heard of?"

Victoria laughed at the man's odd sense of humor. "I made a recommendation to Lord Hellsing. Your 'ability' seems like it will be useful in the future. We're merely taking steps that you'll actually be able to use it for something purposeful in the future."

There was a long pause during which an uncomfortable silence settled between the two. Finally the man asked, "Why me? How did I get this.... power?"

Victoria shrugged, not really caring that he couldn't see it. "It happens when certain humans are put in a life or death situation." She paused for a moment then asked him a question. "You know how much of your brain you actually use?"

Caught off guard by the strange question, the man answered as best he could, "Don't really remember the exact number but isn't it something like 2%?" 

Victoria nodded, "Something along those lines. Now think of this, if humans can function as they do using only that small percentage of their full capabilities, what would happen if someone could unlock 10 or 15% of the human brain's full potential?"

Griphten scratched his head, wondering to himself how the conversation had become like this. "Is that when people start developing stuff like telekinesis?" 

Victoria nodded, "Well we really don't know, but in your case think of it this way. Being put in a life and death situation, with the correct stimuli, can force someone's potential to increase in order to survive. Thats the theory anyway as to how abilities like yours develop."

The man paused suddenly and stepped back, "You mean there are others that can do the same thing as me?"

Seras laughed at the man's brazen naivety. "That or things very similar to it. Those that we find receive some of the toughest training in the world. By the time they are finished, they are either on par or better than those of Iscariot." She thought about the agent that would soon be working with her for a short period with disgust. "One of them is actually coming later this week. I'll have to work with him for a short while."

"You know him?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She let out a heavy sigh. "The man is a complete psychopath."

"I see." Seeing nowhere else to take the conversation he looked around again. Finally he asked, "So what's with all this stuff out here?"

Seras laughed again. "It's to prevent me from killing everyone in the mansion." She said with a hint of amusement. Griphten felt his blood run cold at her less than serious statement. He still remembered the way she beat the hell out of that one freak when she rescued him, so deep inside his mind he did fear her.

As if able to smell his fear she started laughing again. "You and the others probably haven't heard but I got in bad fight a night or two ago. Lost a lot of blood." She paused for a moment, remembering the high and low points of that fight. Her left hand actually started to touch certain areas on her body where she had been stabbed. She then said in a cold voice, "My kind.... doesn't react well to losing a lot of blood."

The man gulped at the statement. He then silently cursed himself for asking and began to look around to see if there was a reason to leave. Luckily for him, his pager started to go off. He sighed in relief and said, "Looks like I've got work. Talk to you later Victoria."

"Kick some ass Lieutenant." Seras said with a grin. She heard the man walking away quickly and somehow knew that he was thankful for the interruption. _I probably just scared him senseless. Oh well, shit happens,_ she thought to herself with a grin. She looked up at the clock on her wall and let out a small sigh. _Still another twenty hours. Wish I had a deck of cards at least._


	10. Chapter 9

Hello, once again here is another far too long delayed update. This chapter is shorter than usual, since I really only wanted to do one thing with it.

**Chapter 9: The 'Wildcard' of Division S**

"Life's a gamble so if go ahead and roll those dice. It's only then that you know where you stand."

A small tune, not noteworthy in any true sense, echoed through the hallway. The man humming the song would indeed insist on its greatness, but would never bother to explain why he held such a mediocre song in such high opinion. Nor would he let the person asking express their opinion, for to him it mattered not. Such were the thoughts of one who spent his whole life fighting in the war against the undead. Even after his recruitment into Hellsing, he continued to fight in his own way, regardless of the consequences.

Such is the way of a man like Xavier Flynn.

Born to a Russian mother and a true Englishman for a father, Xavier was brought up in ways that differed from most in the suburbs of Manchester Connecticut. Although both his parents thought it best to educate him on his heritage, the young Xavier thought it only as tedious and mind-numbing. He instead would prefer to hang out with his friends away from his parents.

It was only because of this that he survived one fateful night twenty years ago at all. He returned one evening to find that his family had been brutally murdered, slaughter by the hands of a vampire who was still feasting on his mother as the twelve year old boy walked in. As the vampire approached him he blacked out. When he came to his senses, he was kneeling over the murderous vampire who had killed his parents. The vampire had lost his arms and legs and in young Xavier's hand was the rather large pocket knife that his father had given him for his eleventh birthday. Made out of pure silver, he merely watched as his body slammed the knife into the vampire's chest, causing the body to become nothing but dust.

The young boy didn't remember what happened next, only that when he woke up he was in a local Catholic church, sleeping on a pew in the back. When he sat he he realized that there was a man in a long gray trench coat watching him with a caring expression. Young Xavier soon found out that the man was from a secret organization within the Catholic church that focused on demon extermination. He explained that the being that Xavier had killed was a vampire, a demon who would feast on the blood on the living. It was then that he offered Xavier the chance to join the Iscariot order.

Xavier was merely silent as his young mind tried to process the information. After a long silence the boy merely stood up and walked out of the church. He returned home and raided his father's things, looking for items that he could pawn in order to get money and eventually found his father's banking card. He then painfully slowly began to travel to different parts of his home town, extracting as much money as he could from the account before heading to a pawn shop to sell his father's things.

He then headed to an underground gambling casino that he and his friends had heard about but always avoiding for safety. He entered with all of his money and went to the poker tables and sat down. The few there laughed at him, telling him that he should go home and have some juice with his mother. Xavier silenced them by slapping four hundred dollars on the table with three words.

"Deal the cards."

In an unprecedented moment that would be remembered in the underground gambling ring for the New England area of the United States, the young boy ended up walking away with a sum of money that was never really determined. However, it was enough for the boy to approach a man who knew how to smith silver into jewelry and small decorative weapons like the boy's pocket knife. Using that money, the boy ordered himself a weapon built the likes of which had rarely been seen before.

Upon completion, the boy merely paid the man and vanished, never to be seen again. He trained with the weapon for over seven years, truly mastering in a way that most would never think possible. He traveled from place to place, country to country, only long enough to gather any information he could on the creatures of the night. He destroyed a few vampires here and there as he traveled but nothing to really draw any attention, which was what he wanted.

His crowning achievement came soon after, as he waked into a town that seemed to be dead to the night. It had been a small town in southern England that had been quarantined due to the fact that a mysterious epidemic had broken out and no one seemed to leave the town alive, even the military and police forces that had already been sent in. As it had eventually turned out, the entire town was flooded with freak vampires and the ghouls that came as a result.

Before he had entered the area, local police had tried to stop him but he merely pushed past them. When he stepped foot inside the town, it was as if the whole town attacked him.

It only lasted three hours, and by the end the only one standing was Xavier. He ended up falling asleep in one of the abandoned houses after killing all the vampires and ghouls that had overrun the town.

Naturally, such a feat attracted the eye of the Hellsing Institution.

Flynn paused in front of Lord Hellsing's office, remembering just when he joined the Hellsing Institution.

_Xavier woke in the middle of the night due to an unfamiliar presence near him. He frowned, thinking to himself about how he was sure he had killed all the vampires that were in the town. He slowly opened his eyes to see that the full moon was still high in the night sky. He blinked once, realizing he truly wasn't alone in the room and felt all his muscles tense up. In one quick motion, he threw the covers off the bed, fell to the ground in a forward roll, pulling his pocket knife from his boot, extending the blade and finally throwing it. The blade soared the air with the velocity that could be compared to an archer's arrow. What surprised him was that the blade impacted next to the window sill, sticking horizontally into the wall._

_All of this did nothing to faze the woman who was staring out the window with her back to him. She turned her head slightly to look at the knife that was sticking into the sill remarkably close to her head. She turned back to the window, only asking, "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"_

_The boy readied his weapon as he rose to his feet. "Who are you?" He asked, his voice cautious. He didn't know who this was, but the fact that she had reacted to a knife thrown in her direction like that disturbed him slightly. It was as if she wouldn't have cared if it had killed her._

_"Are you the one who cleaned out the vermin in this town?" She asked, her voice cold and indifferent. She still had yet to turn to face the young man._

_He paused slightly, trying to figure out who she was and how she knew what he had done. "Depends on what you mean by vermin."_

_"I mean those blood suckers that I was sent here to kill." She said, reaching up to her eyes and pulling off a pair of dark purple sunglasses. She lowered her right hand that held the glasses and seemed to rub her eyes with her left before replacing the glasses on her face. _

_"Yes. I cut them to pieces. Vampire scum." He scoffed the last part of his statement under his breath._

_"Who are you? You're obviously not from Iscariot." She said, turning to face him. Young Xavier was shocked at the woman's strange beauty. She had brown had that seemed to only go down to her shoulders. She wore a dark blue coat that bore the mark of some organization he had never heard of. The purple sunglasses kept her eyes from him but he could feel her glaring at him, as if searching into his soul. Not to mention that the woman had a figure to kill for._

_"Ain't you supposed to introduce yourself before asking for someone else's name beautiful?" He asked in an amused tone. He had not lowered his guard in the slightest, but a small smirk played on his features._

_She chuckled slightly, "The name is Seras Victoria, Hellsing special operative." She said with a small smile on her features._

_"Heh, nice name babe. Name's Xavier and I'm your man if you want to know who cleaned house." He replied back, the smirk still evident on his face._

_She noticed the boy's weapon and lost her smile. It seemed to fall into a deep sad expression as she said, "You're the second person that I've met to use a weapon like that."_

_Xavier raised an eyebrow, "That's surprising. I haven't heard of anyone else using something like this. It took me a long time to learn how to use it without hurting myself."_

_She nodded sadly. "Sadly though, he passed away a long time ago." She then shook her head and then said, "Come with me Xavier. My boss would like to offer you a job." She turned back to the window, "At least, if you're interested in doing things like this more often."_

_He frowned, "You're not from the Catholic church are you?"_

_She shook her head. "No, we are the Royal Protestant Knights of England." She then paused, "It's either yes or no. If you decide to join us, you will hear more."_

_He shrugged. It was a chance for him to exact more revenge on the kind that destroyed his family. "I never could say no to a beautiful woman darlin'." He said it with a poor imitation of a southern drawl._

_She shook her head as if annoyed. "Gather your things then, there is a car waiting outside. My boss is waiting for you."_

_"Sure thing beautiful."_

_"Don't piss me off kid." She said as she grabbed the knife that was sticking into the wall. His eyes shot open as he watched he hand start to burn and make a sizzling noise as smoke slowly rose from the white glove she wore. She then threw the knife over her shoulder and it flew between Xavier's legs, landing behind him on his light shadow. Upon closer inspection, it would be noticed that the blade landed on where Xavier's shadow would have his... goods._

_He raised his weapon immediately as it dawned on him. "Vampire bitch!" He yelled as he attacked. As he did so, the woman vanished and he merely hit the edge of the window, sending shards of glass and wood outside or to the floor of the room. It was then that Xavier felt someone behind him._

_Before he could move he felt a rather large gun being pointed at his head. "One false move kid, and you're dead."_

_"You're one of them?" Xavier growled through his teeth as he looked over his shoulder to see the barrel of a large black gun being pointed directly at the side of his head._

_"What do you think?" She said, a ghost of a smile playing on her features._

_"Tell your boss then that I have no intentions working with a vampire." He said, spitting on the ground._

_There was a long silence. "Let me guess: Your family was killed by vampires."_

_"Good guess bitch. I took care of that fucker, just like I took care of this town. And it'll be just like how I take care of you the second you lower that gun."_

_"You are nowhere near strong enough to even cause a wound on me, boy."_

_"Care to try me?"_

_The woman shook her head, as if annoyed. She kicked his back, sending him to the floor and wall. His back slammed against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. She lowered her arms but now the gun was gone. She removed the sunglasses from her eyes and placed them in a pocket in her coat. "You have two chances."_

_The man chuckled as he lashed out, the silver threads flying towards the woman's head. She merely ducked to the side and took a few steps towards him. He flipped to his feet, retracting the silver threads as he pulled his arm back. The threads came flying back along the ground. The woman merely jumped backwards as if a child skipping rope as the threads retracted. She suddenly vanished, causing him to take a step back. _

_He heard a voice say, "That's one." It was then that he felt something impact against his left shoulder. Before he could even look over, Victoria dislocated his shoulder. He screamed in pain as he stumbled forward. His right hand flew up to his shoulder in reflex and he gritted his teeth to keep himself from cursing. He took a few steps towards the center of the room and turned to face his enemy. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. "You have one more chance." Came her cold voice._

_The man charged her, his hand picking up the silver pocket knife as he dashed towards her. He sent out his threads as he brought the knife up to slash at her heart. The woman merely ducked the threads that were sent out and grabbed his wrist as the knife came within inches of her chest. "And that was two." She then applied pressure to the point where the boy's wrist snapped. His scream of pain was loud and it echoed throughout the small room. It was then that a sudden blow to the back of the head knocked the young man unconscious. _

_When he came to he was sitting in a rather posh limo seat. He was strapped down by the seat belt and shoulder harness. He also realized that his weapons had been taken from him. He looked over to his right to see a middle aged man smoking a cigar. The man was watching him with a suspicious glare, the cigar being held by his index and middle finger. He looked in front of him to see Seras training one of her guns on him. She betrayed nothing as she looked to the other occupant. Xavier looked over again and asked, "You the boss?"_

_The man nodded. "My name is William Hellsing, leader of the Royal Protestant Knights. We want you to join us."_

_Xavier chuckled slightly. "You want me to work with a vampire?"_

_The man paused for a moment. "Actually, if you could get her off my back I'd appreciate it."_

_"Watch it Lord Hellsing." Seras growled._

_Xavier sighed. He reached into his pocket and withdrew an American quarter. He raised it and said as he flipped it in the air, "Call it in the air."_

_Unsure of what to say to such odd behavior, Lord Hellsing merely called, "Heads."_

_Xavier caught the quarter and slammed it on the backside of his left hand. He removed his right to see that it had landed heads side up. "Looks like we have a deal." He said with a hint of amusement._

_Seras withdrew he gun and frowned at the man, "You're making a decision like that on the basis of a coin toss?"_

_The younger man merely chuckled, "It's the way I've lived since I've killed that first vampire seven years ago."_

Xavier snapped out of his thoughts as he knocked on Lord Hellsing's door. "Sir, Agent Flynn reporting as ordered."

"It's unlocked." Came a gruff voice from inside the room. Xavier straightened up his tie and ran his hand through his long black hair before opening the door and stepping inside.

The room was the same as Xavier remembered it. The rather large window on the side of the office overlooked the old castle's courtyard. The desk was still covered with various papers and files, with only the desk lamp providing any sort of light. His eyes met the current leader of the Hellsing Institution and Xavier smirked as he snapped to attention. "You look well, Lord Hellsing."

"At ease agent." The man lowered his right hand into his pants pocket and stood there as if waiting for the man to continue.

Lord Hellsing looked over the elite agent from Division S. The first time he had met the man was ten years ago. Victoria had brought in a boy who apparently had wiped out an entire town full of vampires on his own. When William Hellsing met Xavier Flynn, the first impression had not been so good. The young man, not even old enough to drink in some countries, had no respect for the leader of the Helling family, and he held little doubt that the man still disrespected him. He was skilled though, making it into Division S after only being with the Institution for a few months. He made it through the Division S training in less than a year, something that by then been unprecedented.

Not only that, but the man had a reputation that was hard to disregard. Among his colleagues within Division S, Xavier Flynn had picked up the nickname 'Wildcard.' It was a play on words with two things: one was the way that the man made decisions on the whims of coins and dice, as if they were guided by fate. He was a gambler, with both his money and his life. The second reason came from the way he fought. The man's weapon was very unique in this day and age, and it was obvious that it took quite some time to master it in order to hunt vampires. However, the man was also creative as he attacked, often destroying supports to buildings and attacking fuel lines and such in order to make sure he annihilated his targets. The man seemed to always emerge unscathed from explosions or collapsed buildings that he caused, causing the rest of the Hellsing Institution to think that some god of death watched over this man with amusement.

Snapping back to the present, Lord Hellsing sat down at his desk. "Agent Flynn, you will be working with our intelligence department for the next week to find a place of utter disgust."

Xavier frowned, _You've got to be kidding me. Ol' man Hellsing calls him in here to do detective work?_ "Sir, is someone from Division S really needed for this?"

"Yes. It is imperative that we find this location as soon as possible." Seeing the agent's confused look, he continued, "It is a freak chip factory. We have information regarding the existence of one in an area that intelligence has narrowed down to only a few sites. We don't want to start sending in teams because we don't want them to run. Only you and Victoria will know of these locations, once you have confirmed the information, a full strike team will be sent in."

"So I'll be working with Draculina again, eh?" Xavier asked with a hint of amusement. He grabbed his chin slightly and scratched it lightly as he closed his eyes and recalled the stunning figure of the vampire that served the Institution. She was still as beautiful as when he first met her, although far too serious for his liking.

"Speaking of which, she should be coming around sometime soon."

"Already here sir." Came a voice from behind Xavier. He didn't bother to react as he recognized the voice. He opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder to see the woman walking forth from the shadow in the corner of the room.

He grinned as she walked up and stood next to him. "Good to see ya darlin'." He said with a mimicked southern drawl.

She didn't even bother to look at him but said, "Xavier, you've been here less than twenty minutes. Don't make me break your arm again."

"Enough!" Lord Hellsing said loud enough to cause both of them to rivet his attention. "You have your orders. Victoria has command, now go and find me that factory." Both nodded once and left the room, Xavier following behind Victoria as she walked towards the door. His gaze never left her lovely figure as she opened door and walked out.

Once the door had been shut behind him, Xavier chuckled and said with a hint of amusement, "I think a woman in a position of authority is really sexy, you know." Seras looked over her shoulder and Xavier watched in slight amusement as her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He smirked as walked up next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, "See something you like beautiful?" He asked with a soft but playful voice.

Seras' eyebrow twitched once again and before Xavier knew what had happened she was slamming him against the wall by his throat and holding him there. She leaned closer to him and said in a cold voice, "Listen Xavier, can we go through one mission together when you don't give me the uncontrollable urge to gut you like a fish?" She paused for a moment, her eyes narrowing when she continued, "Now listen to me. I've been having a really shitty week. I've have been in confinement for the past three days watching as more of my sanity slip away after getting the shit beat out of me by an Iscariot pup who I underestimated in battle." She tightened her grip for a moment longer and said in an even harsher whisper, "So don't push me!"

Within the office of the Hellsing leader, the man merely chuckled as he heard someone get slammed into a wall. "Well that took longer than expected." He said with a hint of mirth in his voice, somehow knowing what just took place outside.

Xavier held up his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry babe, chill." The woman dropped him and he rubbed his neck slightly as she left him behind, muttering angry curses under her breath. He merely smirked as he walked a little quicker to catch up, _Hell has no fury next to a woman's scorn, eh?_ "So where do we start oh fearless leader?"

She opened the door and held it behind her as she answered him. "Port district. We're working off some information from some freaks I pulled the plug on a while back. Intelligence has narrowed it down to several sites."

Xavier followed behind her, bringing a quarter out of his pocket. As he followed her, he flipped the quarter up in the air and caught it, flipping it up once again after. It was an odd habit that the man had, have the time he wasn't even aware that he was doing it. "So why send us? Seems like a job for a normal group."

Seras turned around and snatched the coin out of the air before he could catch it again. "Because the last time we came this close, the perpetrators blew up all the evidence when our men entered the facility. We lost eleven good men that night, and a few others were very badly injured." She flipped the coin back to him, satisfied that she had been able to be the focus of attention while she was speaking.

Xavier grabbed the coin in midair and replaced it in his pocket, slightly annoyed at himself for bringing it out in the first place. "So is it both of us by night, and I run solo during the day?"

Seras shook his head. "There will be no solo movement. I will join you during the day searches." She remarked, starting to relax slightly in the man's presence.

Xavier frowned at that, "You can walk during the day? Thought that killed you guys."

Seras shot him a look that seemed to reflect that she was slightly insulted. "I'm a pure blood, don't underestimate me. We can still walk during the day, its just that most of our powers are sealed." She paused for a moment in her movement, causing the man to walk past her before he realized that she had stopped. "Come to think of it, this will be the first time I've seen the sunlight for about fifty years."

The man raised an eyebrow in amusement. "So I guess we have a date for brunch tomorrow, eh?" He replied jokingly, continuing to walk past the woman.

She sighed in irritation. "You just don't get it, do you?"

He chuckled, "No, I do. It's just that you look even more beautiful when you're irritated." She shot him a look that could kill but he didn't see it. He paused as he opened the exit, looking over his shoulder towards the female vampire. "You coming Draculina?"

She bit her tongue to keep from hurting him as she walked past the man, who was wearing a smug look on his face. "Wildcard, eventually your luck with me is going to run out. I hope you realize this."

The man chuckled, "Only every time I see you gorgeous."

Seras had to restrain herself from drawing the Jackal right then and there.

AN: My idea for Xavier Flynn's character comes from Janus from Black Cat. Of course, not everything is similar but whenever I pictured Flynn as I wrote this, I seemed to keep thinking of Janus, so it probably has more bearing that I would think. I think he's going to be a fun character to work with.

To those that have been reading this from when I first started posting it, yes it is going somewhere. It's just taking far longer than I had intended to get there. Not to mention my own delays due to writer's block and working on other stories instead (my fault entirely.)


	11. Chapter 10

Well, heres another chapter. It was an idea I toyed with for a long time before going through with it. Don't worry about the next update, I already have most of the next chapter thought out in my head, only need to actually type it. Hell, I'll probably waste more time trying to find a fitting quote than actually typing it. Let's just say it will probably remind people of Chapter 1.

I guess I'll make a few few author's notes now:

The biggest I suppose is the whole Alucard issue. I know everyone wants him to come back. However, the fact of the matter is this: He has been ordered sealed by the royal family of England. Also, those who know of his existence know how deadly he is, and they are all afraid of him, yes even Seras fears Alucard slightly. I can't just say, oh, its time to free Alucard now. It just wouldn't work out right. I'm not saying he's not coming back, just be patient.

As for a AlucardxSeras situation, its probably not going to happen. There are two big reasons for it, one of which due to plot, the other is due to inability. The inability is in regards to me writing fluff. It just doesn't work due to my overall cynicism.

Once again, thanks to all the constructive criticism people. Keep it coming.

**Chapter Ten: Diversionary Tactics **

"You can discover what you enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you**. "**

"Hellsing is coming too close. You promised that you would keep them off our backs!"

Lorenz merely grabbed his head in annoyance. _Some human would make himself rich for making a device that would allow you to hit someone through a phone line._ "Irrelevant. They will be dealt with. Their intelligence division is not as well organized as you give them credit for." He lowered his hand as he continued, "More importantly, have the improvements been made yet?"

"They are about 80% complete. We should be able to start testing them within the month. I'll leave it to you to organize another group of 'volunteers'." Came the scrambled voice through the secure line.

Lorenz paused for a moment, quite shocked to hear that the humans were so far along. "Excellent, my master will be pleased human." Lorenz reached out over the desk to retrieve a series of papers that were sitting there. He held them up while pretending to listen to the man's scientific babble that he knew he would not understand, nor care about, as long as the man did as he was ordered.

The top paper consisted of two scanned pictures of the female executioner for the Hellsing Institution. _Seras Victoria, a pure blood with power possibly rivaling that of my own. It would not be wise to engage her yet, but I can sense that a confrontation is not far off._ "What of the other matter?"

The man on the other line paused, seemingly annoyed that his talk of science was interrupted. "I was able to procure the file that you wanted on her, don't ask anything else. That has already made me a marked man."

Lorenz cursed under his breath. _Coward._ "Surely you can apply pressure to Hellsing to call off his dog from this area."

"No it is not possible. The only one capable of ordering William Hellsing to do anything that extreme would be the Queen. Until the woman slips up, there is nothing that I can do about her." There was a pause while Lorenz thought about this. "Why don't you or your female companion take care of her? It seems like it would be well within your power."

Lorenz frowned at the man's impudence. "If I am ordered to, I will." He said in a deadly voice.

There was a very long pause. "Speaking of her, was the information provided of any actual use?"

Lorenz allowed a sick grin to cross his face. "Indeed. The results were quite promising, although..." he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the broken pieces of a red jewel, "she was far stronger than anticipated." He replaced the gem back in his pocket and continued, "No matter. Adjustments will be made in order to compensate."

"I see. Is there anything else Lorenz?"

"No. Keep working and don't do anything stupid. Hellsing is not the only one looking for you." With that Lorenz hung up the phone. He closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair and placed his hands on the back of his head as his face pointed towards the ceiling.

After a long time Lorenz spoke again, "Kylie, you there?" It was a rhetorical question, as he had already sensed her presence long ago.

"What it is Lorenz?" The woman asked as she walked out of the shadows towards the man's desk.

Lorenz opened his eyes and looked towards the beautiful vampire. "Those fools at the factory are starting to get scared. I want you to go there and keep them in line."

The woman frowned at the order. "Why should we even bother? Odds are that they will become even more afraid if I go there."

Lorenz grinned. "Exactly. Fear is a wonderful motivator in humans. I'm sure your presence would accelerate their progress."

The woman shrugged. _Doesn't bother me either way._ "Anything else you want me to do other than scare the shit out of them?"

Lorenz frowned. "Yes. Hellsing's people have been searching around the area. Take care of anyone who you catch snooping around."

Kylie grinned wildly. "Do you mind if I feed off them?" She asked with a hint of insane joy.

Lorenz chuckled at the woman's enthusiasm. "Feel free, but take care of the bodies before they turn into ghouls. They are of no use to us." The woman laughed with glee as she vanished into the darkness, leaving a slightly bemused Lorenz.

_She is eager for battle but I don't she has the power alone to stand against Victoria should it come to it. Perhaps I should pay that fool's former SAS friends a call. They could prove... useful._

The sun was high in the sky that late morning, with a chill in the air surrounding the small cafe. It seemed like an ordinary day for the people working there. All in all, as they served the coffee and other drinks that their usual customers ordered, it looked like it was going to be a good day. That is until the sounds of two people could be heard bickering back and forth.

"You know, we've been working on this for four days already. You could at least treat me with some respect." Xavier said with a frown his face as he glared at the woman sitting across from him. He was wearing a dark gray suit, with a black tie hanging down the center. On top of that he was wearing a thick jacket, trying to hide from the cold temperatures. In his hand was a small cup of coffee which he took a drink from before hearing his companion's response.

"Respect is earned Flynn, never given. You would do well to remember that." Seras said with a hint of amusement, as if greatly enjoying driving the man nuts. She was wearing a pain of denim jeans and a dark blue sports jacket. She had on her purple sunglasses and had a baseball cap on her head, her brown hair coming out from underneath it.

"Well I've earned it. Don't forget, I'm at the top of our game and you damn well know it."

She began to chuckle at his boast, drawing the attention of the others in the small cafe. "You aren't the top, 'Wildcard.' Be both know who is and she's sitting right in front of you."

Xavier seethed at that comment, trying to think of an appropriate comeback. He couldn't mostly because what she said was true. She had been doing this longer than he had even been alive and he has seen the woman work. It was like poetry in motion the way she could take out freaks as if they were bugs.

Seeing the man's annoyed expression, Seras couldn't help but smile. She voiced her thoughts with much amusement, "Turnabout is fair play Flynn. I can be just as irritating as you can be."

Xavier let out a loud sigh, relaxing a bit. He let out a weak smile and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll stop." Seras merely chuckled as she took a sip of the tomato juice she had ordered. It was quite disturbing to watch to Xavier, because although he knew it was only tomato juice, it reminded him way too much of what else looks like that and how it was the only source of nourishment the woman enjoyed. "Does it really bother you that much when I compliment you?"

Seras raised an eyebrow to the man's question. "Not so much the blatant flirting as much as its plain annoying."

"I see." The man chuckled and then snapped his fingers together. "I'll make a bet with you Victoria. Are you a betting woman?"

"What?" She asked, quite confused with the man's quickly changing demeanor.

He pointed at her with his free hand. "I'll make you a bet that I can go the rest of this assignment without royally pissing you off."

Seras scoffed at the man, taking another sip of her juice. "Not a chance."

He waved her off, as if trying to sell her on the idea. "If I win I get to do something I've wanted to do since I met ya."

Seras narrowed her eyes, already having a sneaking suspicion what the man was after. "I'm not going to sleep with you Flynn."

Xavier chuckled at that response. He lowered his voice and said with amusement, "Hey, even I'm not crazy enough to get between the sheets with a bloodsucker." He then spoke normally again, "You let me take you out to dinner and a night on the town."

Seras stared at the man in complete shock. There was a long pause before she asked, "Flynn, are you deaf or just plain retarded?"

He waved his hand again, chuckling to himself as if this was the best idea he ever had. "No, I'm serious babe."

Seras took another drink of her juice without saying another word. Finally she asked, "And if I win?"

Xavier shrugged, "Whatever you want." Seeing her confused look, he explained, "It's not like I know what you want, thus I can't really give you any ideas."

Seras smiled in amusement at that. "You're willing to take your chances, regardless of what I might do to you if I win?" She chuckled and said, "You really do have a gambling problem Xavier."

He quirked up at that. It was the first time that she had called him Xavier since they had started working together. "So is it a deal?" Seras merely leaned back, staring at the sky as if deliberating the answer.

Finally after a long time and a coffee later, Seras answered him without looking at him. "Sure, how bad could it be?: She asked rhetorically. She then looked back to him with a hint of amusement, "And you might actually shut up for a while."

"Keep in mind that you can't let compliments constitute as 'royally pissing you off.' It's hard to change habits that much." He said as he put down his coffee and extended his right hand.

Seras reached forward with her own hand and said, "Deal." The two shook hands, each having a smile of amusement of thinking what they would have the other do if they won. Xavier took another sip of his coffee, trying to think of something else to say before they had to go back to work.

"Enough of this. We still have several sites to check out. Let's go Xavier."

_So much for that,_ Xavier thought as he quickly gulped down the rest of his coffee. "Where to next gorgeous?" He asked, a smirk evident on his face.

She looked up from the money she was counting out for the waiter's tip, her eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "Hey Flynn, remembering what I said about gutting fish?"

Xavier merely chuckled as he waited for her and the two walk away from the cafe, leaving some very disturbed customers and workers wondering just who the hell the couple was. Once they were out of earshot, Xavier's tone turned serious. "So how many more sites are there? Intelligence had narrowed it down right?"

Seras nodded, looking behind her to make sure no one was following them. She didn't sense anyone, but during the day her senses were not as sharp as she was used to. "Yes. In the past few days we've checked about half of them. Still nothing though. I'm starting to think we may be on a wild goose chase."

Xavier frowned at that statement. "If we finish checking them all and come up with nothing I'm going to clean ol' man Hellsing's clock for calling me out here to do Sherlock work."

Seras chuckled. "He's not the one you should hit, it would be those idiots from intelligence."

Xavier chuckled, "True, but it would still be somewhat rewarding to punch out the boss. Hell, its every employee's dream." Seras openly began to laugh at that statement, covering her mouth to keep herself in control.

"Sir, we have a report coming in from Victoria and Flynn." Christopher said, walking unannounced into the man's office.

"Let me guess: another dead end?" The man replied with no mirth in his voice.

The other occupant of the room nodded in disbelief. "Indeed. That is the tenth site that has turned up negative."

"Perhaps they have already moved on. The information is from a while back, and it was only word of mouth."

Christopher thought on this, scratching his chin slightly. "Can we really take that chance though, without checking the remaining sites thoroughly?"

Lord Hellsing frowned at that. "No, it is too much of a risk. If we can capture the data from a factory, it would bring us immensely closer to ending the existence of freak vampires as a whole."

Christopher chuckled at that, "Are they any other pure bloods left besides Victoria anyway?"

Lord Hellsing shot his subordinate a dirty look, "I have no doubts in my mind that she is not the last. Besides, we only hunt in English territories. We will need to expand eventually."

"I suppose you are correct sir, though I think the round table would disagree with you." Christopher looked out the window after that comment and noticed something. _It's snowing, _he remarked idly to himself before continuing to report on the daily work for the organization.

"Alice, make sure to grab your coat honey." A woman called to her child as she waited for her to come downstairs. Elena Hellsing was a happy woman. She had a loving husband, a beautiful little girl, a job she enjoyed and she lived in a mansion. She always thought of herself as being really lucky to have such love in her life.

She knew nothing of what the Hellsing Institution really did. No, that was a secret that never left the premises of the old castle. She had seen soldiers there before and as far as she knew, the Hellsing Institution was an organization for training soldiers for the British army. Thus, she never really gave much thought to what her husband did, or why he spent so many late nights there.

The young girl came bounding down the stairs with a large smile on her face. She was wearing a red winter coat and some snow boots. It was wintertime in England after all. She was wearing a fuzzy winter hat and a pair of gloves. "I'm ready mommy."

The woman smiled at her daughter as she pulled on her own winter coat. "Let's hit that hill then." Alice nodded in agreement as she grabbed an inflatable snow tube and ran towards the door. The tube was almost as big as the little girl, causing her mother to chuckle slightly as they walked out of the door.

The woman opened the car door and ushered her little girl inside before walking around to the driver's side and getting in. She was taking the girl to a large hill that was covered with the early winter snow. It wasn't much, but the girl was far too excited for the woman to say no. She started the car and began driving through the falling snow, wondering how much more would fall today.

After a few minutes of driving, Elena Hellsing saw a car stopped across the two lane road, blocking both lanes. The front end of it looked smashed in and smoking slightly. She pulled off to the side and said to her daughter, "Alice honey, wait here. I'm going to see if they're alright."

She got out of her car and pulled her coat around her tighter. _It's getting colder._ She walked over to the smashed up car, noticing the other car behind it. _Looks like an accident, hope no one is hurt._ "Hey are you alright in there?" She called out, cupping her hands over her mouth.

What happened next took far too fast for her understanding. The car door burst open and a man was holding a machine gun aimed at her chest. Within five more seconds she was knocked unconscious by another armed man while another group grabbed the young girl from the other car. Within three seconds the two captives were loaded into another car that was hidden off of the road and driven away.

Five minutes later, the time bombs that had been set in the original two cars went off, leave no traces of what had taken place besides the empty car of Alice's mother.

"What is it?" Lord Hellsing asked as he picked up his phone. He was expecting to hear Christopher's voice, or the voice of his secretary.

Instead he heard a strangely distorted voice. "William Hellsing?"

He frowned at that. "Yes, who is this?"

"Your wife and daughter won't be coming home tonight sir." The voice said. The line was then cut.

Lord Hellsing blinked at that once then hung up the phone. He then tried to call his wife on her cellular phone. It rang five times before it was picked up, "Elena, are you alright?"

"She is for now," came a calm voice. "But unless you want her in pain you will do what we say."

"Bastards! Let my family go!" He yelled into the phone, slamming his fist down on his desk. It was at this point that Christopher walked in, wondering what the noise was about. Lord Hellsing shushed him before saying, "If anything happens to them I will kill you myself."

"We're the ones in control here, Lord Hellsing." There was a long pause before the man said, "Bring five hundred thousand pounds to the old barn fifty-five miles north by northeast of your estate by midnight tonight or you'll never see either of them again. GPS coordinates are as follows..." The line went dead after the coordinates were given.

Lord Hellsing hung up the phone and punched his desk as hard as he could. "Damn it!" He then looked to Christopher. "Call Victoria back her immediately, I have new orders for her. Flynn continues with the search. Those bastards picked the wrong man to mess with."

Christopher frowned at that. "Do you think this is a direct threat?"

Hellsing nodded his head. "The timing is too good. This isn't about money. Someone on the round table has sold us out!" This had to be true because technically, the Hellsing family didn't officially exist. There were no documented papers about the family, and those that did come up due to marriages, births, etc, were promptly erased except for copies that were kept behind a vault in Buckingham Palace. It was the same for all the members of the round table. Hellsing looked up to his old friend and said, "I want the bastards who did this, alive! No one will be allowed to kill them until we have interrogated them thoroughly. Someone on the round table is a traitor, and I want his head."

Christopher bowed slightly and said, "It shall be done."

The moon had risen high into the air that night. The dark sky dotted with the stars had a surreal appearance to the woman as she sat in the backseat of a car. _Who would've thought I'd be doing this? I've never seen Lord Hellsing out for blood as much as he is now. Though, I can't really blame him. Anyone would react in the same way._ "Miss Victoria, we're here."

"I see, thank you. Wait here." She said as she opened her door and stepped out. With her was a metal briefcase with a combination lock on it. She removed her purple sunglasses from her pocket and placed them on her eyes before closing the door and walking towards the barn she had been told about. She walked towards the barn at a comfortable pace, fully enjoying the light of the moon.

She entered the barn with no words, but didn't remove her sunglasses. It's not like she couldn't see in the dark anyways. She turned around and shut the door behind her before stepping forward. She noticed the men with sniper rifles in the upper reaches of the barn, as well as the men with machine guns hiding in the shadows in the lower corners. She didn't bother trying to hide this fact either. "Oi, the idiots who kidnapped the Hellsing family. I've got your money so let's deal."

It was then that a light on the other side of the barn turned on and Seras saw what she had already seen in the darkness. Both mother and daughter were on the floor, gags in their mouths and their hands tied behind their back. Alice looked like she was crying while the mother just looked worried and terrified. Seras glared at the two men wearing masks holding guns ready at the two hostages. _All in all, that makes seven. Pity, I was hoping for a challenge._

One man stepped forward, a sidearm in his hand. "You Hellsing's lapdog?"

Seras frowned at that. "I'm the one bringing the ransom, if thats what you're asking."

"Drop the case there and step away." He ordered, raising his gun at her. Seras dropped the metal case and took about five steps backwards. The man walked over to the case and holstered his weapon before picking it up. He tried opening it but found it locked. "Hey, what's the combo."

"The girl goes first. Once she's in the car outside, I'll give it to you. Then you let the woman go. Agreed?" Seras said.

The man laughed loudly at that. "I think you don't realize the situation you're in sweetheart. Now tell us the combo or we waste all three of you." Seras said nothing at first. But then, soft laughter could be heard. Eventually this grew into loud laughter, shocking everyone in the barn. "Hey lady, this ain't a joke!" The leader yelled firing a shot towards the hostages, the bullet hitting a piece of wood close to Alice's head.

This caused Seras to stop laughing and glared at the man. "That was very stupid to do. Now I'll have to break your legs and your arms." She said, removing her right glove.

"What? You can't be serious."

"I hope you liked moving under your own power, because that was the last time your going to do it." Seras remarked, raising her hand. She cracked her knuckles once then pointed upwards with her index and middle finger.

It was at that point that the man with the pistol felt as if something cold had grabbed his heart. It was as if a cold wind had blown through the barn, drifting directly through the armed men. Seras merely chuckled as she felt her power binding the man in front of her. He found himself unable to breathe normally and everything seemed to move slower than usual. He was not alone as Seras had halted the movement of all the kidnappers, her dark magic sealing their movement off. She lowered her hand and slowly began to walk towards the nearest kidnapper. He tried to raise his pistol to fire at her but was unable to move. He merely watched as the woman walked right up next to him and backhanded him, sending him flying through the barn wall and bouncing around outside. Seras frowned at the man, who by now had to be unconscious. She then walked over to where the two woman were still being held hostages by one man who was unable to move, yet somehow trembling in fear of the woman.

She walked behind the two and untied their hands and took the gags from their mouths. The mother looked to the woman in amazement and asked, "Who are you?"

Seras merely grinned. "I work for your husband. He asked me to take care of the situation." She lowered her purple eyeglasses down for a second to meet the woman's gaze. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

Elena Hellsing nodded, dumbfounded at the statement. It was then that Alice turned and spoke, "Hiya Miss. Seras!"

Seras found herself smiling at the girl, still amazed by the girl's energy in this situation. "Hi Alice. It's nice to see you again."

The girl and her mother stood up and turned to face Seras. Seras turned to the mother and said, "Ma'am, there is a car waiting outside. Get in and tell the driver that it's alright to leave."

"Why are we leaving you here? Shouldn't you come with us?" Alice asked, quite baffled by the suggestion.

Seras playfully ruffled the girls hair and said, "I need to take care of the bad guys. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."

Alice nodded happily and began skipped towards the door. Elena merely watched her child in amazement before asking Seras, "What did you do to them?"

"I merely sealed their movement. Hence why they are just watching us." She said, gesturing towards the man that was behind them, still unmoving.

"How did you do that?"

Seras shrugged, "I don't know how to explain it to a human." Seras then blinked and realized what she had just said. _Damn you Freud._

"What do you mean?" She asked, starting to walk with the woman after the little girl.

"Ask your husband about it. It'll be easier." Seras remarked, turning around. "Tell him I'll drop by in a few hours with my report."

"....Alright, I guess." The woman then walked out of the barn. Seras willed the door to shut and then faced all the armed men.

She stood there for a long time before beginning to speak. "Now, who do I get first? The ones up in the rafters or you idiots with the machine guns?" She then let out a sick grin, freezing the blood of anyone that would see it. _Lord Hellsing did say I could do whatever I wanted, as long as they were still alive and could still talk. I think its time to let off some steam._

What soon followed cannot be described without words, only grisly images that would cause even the strongest stomachs to feel weak. Needless to say, in twenty minutes, there was a pile of groaning men in the center of the barn. Seras had kept her word and had broken all the limbs of the kidnappers. She then reached into her pocket and withdrew a cellular phone. She punched a few buttons and raised it to her ear. "Christopher, you can come and pick them up now. I sent the family back already and have disabled the villains. I'll leave them here for you."

"Is that wise, they might leave after you."

"No they won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I took care of it." The man on the other end felt his heart run cold at that statement as the line died. He closed his phone and crossed himself, wondering what kind of bloodfest the men were going to walk in on. Somehow he wasn't surprised when he heard about the carnage. The soldier on site, who was familiar with Seras and what she was capable of, only shook his head and ordered for them to be loaded onto the chopper. Seras merely watched the whole situation with much amusement. She then walked into the shadows and disappeared, a sadistic grin on her face as she replaced her right glove..

"Thank god you two are alright." William Hellsing grabbed his wife and daughter as the got out of the car and held them tightly.

"Dear..." Elena said, trailing off as tears began to form in her eyes. She had honestly thought that she would never see her husband again. She merely sobbed into his arms as she immediately felt as if her ordeal was over.

"Daddy, Seras came and took care of the bad men." Alice said as she hugged her father with all her strength.

William Hellsing breathed a sigh of relief then released his grasp on his family. "Listen, you two are going to stay here from now on. It's safer here and we can make sure something like this never happens again."

"Dear, what about our house, my job, Alice still has school you know..." Elena said as she looked at her husband in shock.

William merely gave his wife a thin smile. "It's just temporary, besides its not so bad here."

"Dear, how come I have the feeling you're not telling me everything?" The woman asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

He looked away from his wife's piercing gaze towards his old friend. "Christopher, could you take Alice and put her to bed. She's had a long day." The man nodded and led the little girl away. Lord Hellsing merely watched in relief, then turned to his wife and said, "I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do."

"Yes. You do."

"Come on, let's head upstairs to the office. It's a long story, and I don't know when Victoria will feel like making her report, if she actually decides to do it."

The mention of the strange brunette caused Lady Hellsing to raise an eyebrow. "I was curious about her too. She did something... very strange to the kidnappers. Who is she?"

The man grabbed his head in annoyance as he led his wife upstairs, "I'm afraid that is an even longer story."

The two were silent after that comment as they walked towards the office. William paused as he placed his hand on the office doorknob and turned to his wife. "I never actually told you what the Hellsing Institution does, did I?"

The woman shook her head, but said with uncertainty. "I know you train soldiers. I thought it was a division of the army."

He opened the door and walked in, his wife following him with a curious look. He was about to continue to speak when a voice spoke before he did, "Took you long enough. I've been waiting for you Lord Hellsing."

Both humans jumped at the voice at first. Then Lord Hellsing turned and yelled, "God damn it Victoria! Don't do that!" Seras merely chuckled at the man's reaction. It was more or less what she had expected. Surprising him was one of the few things that really amused her.

Seras eyes then trailed to Elena Hellsing and she bowed her head. "Lady Hellsing, it's nice to see you again." She said, an amused tone in her voice.

Elena's jaw dropped upon seeing the woman and pointed at her with her right hand, "How... did you beat us back here?"

Seras merely grinned and removed her sunglasses, revealing her blood red eyes, "I have my little ways." She then turned to the director of the Hellsing institution and said, "You want my report now or were you hoping for some private time with the misses?"

The man grabbed his head in annoyance. "It's too late to hide what we do now that this has happened. Elena, you might want to sit down." He said, gesturing towards a chair near the desk. The woman nodded in confusion, trying to figure out how the woman could make it back to Hellsing manor before they did when she stayed behind. William merely walked to his usual seat behind his desk, "So, let's hear it Victoria."

She walked over and leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, bowing her head slightly. "Well, I remedied the situation. No freaks were there, only humans. They were using weaponry I've only heard of special ops teams using, but no silver was there." She then looked up and said, "Sir, this was a distraction."

The man nodded. "I figured as much. There are no real records of this Hellsing family, so tracking us down is very difficult. This was not about money, we have a judas in our midst."

"It seems Flynn and I were closer than we thought."

"How are you so sure? This might have been in the works for a long time."

Seras shook her head, "No way, the timing is far too good. They knew if your family was threatened in this manner that you would send me to deal with it. The fact that they were ill-equipped means that they were expendable as well."

"Indeed."

Victoria shrugged as she pushed off the wall. "Well, now that your need for blood has been satisfied, should I return to my original assignment?"

The man grabbed his head and said in a tired voice, "Please tell me you didn't kill them all."

Seras only grinned, "Why no, Lord Hellsing, I would never do such a thing!" She remarked in mock insulted form. She then dropped the humor and said, "I brought them all back alive, though they are in pieces so to speak. A few probably have concussions as well."

The man removed his hand from his head and looked at her and deadpanned, "I don't want to know, do I?"

Seras only chuckled slightly and said, "Don't worry, they can all still talk. And if your interrogators can't get them to sing, just give them to me. I haven't had a fresh kill in a long time."

"Watch it Draculina..." The man said, his eye twitching.

Seras merely raised her hands in defeat, "I'm just saying, if I take their blood I also get their memories. It's just a backup precaution."

"I see. Either way, go back and keeping working on finding that factory. Call it in as soon as you two find it."

"Understood." With that Seras merely turned and walked into the shadows, vanishing from the office room.

Elena Hellsing finally broke her confused silence and asked, "What the hell was all that about? And how did she do that?" She asked, pointed towards the darkened corner.

The man paled, suddenly remembering that his wife had been in the room. He scratched his head and then turned in his chair. He pushed an intercom button and said, "Christopher, could you bring me some scotch?" He then looked to his wife and said, "Well, it's hard to explain. Just... listen and believe whatever I say as I explain..."


	12. Chapter 11

Well here is the next one. And for some reason FFNet hates OpenOffice. Go fig.

**Chapter Eleven: Insertion**

"Walk the path of justice, though it leads through the land of madness"

Xavier frowned as he stared through the binoculars. He had been sitting on top of the building staring at his target for the last four hours without moving. He frown had appeared when Seras had left him to scout this last site alone while she went to, in her own words, "take care of the boss' bloodlust."

He twisted his right hand slightly and watched the view within the scope magnify by ten times. What he was looking at was an old dilapidated building that as far as the general public knew, was a fish canning company that went out of business three years ago. The first that had caught his eye, and prompted his closer inspection of the site was a pair of men who stood outside the main doors. At first glance it seemed like nothing out of the ordinary, just two guys hanging out together. Though, if you were skilled, it was easy to see that they were not just standing around. They were taking in all of their surroundings, watching anyone that passed by them with a cold glare. The earpieces and the bulges under their sport jackets that hid their pistols also drew the attention of the Division S operative.

The two men had moved, to say the least. Sometimes one of them would randomly walk around the nearby area, wandering down random streets until eventually returning the other. The entrance was never bare, one man had always been there, watching everything for any sign of intruders.

While the strange wanderings would seem like the two were not too focused on blocking the entrance, Xavier praised the move. Routines and repetitive motions were easy to exploit and find ways around. What the two were doing was an old strategy that was still used by bodyguard agencies even in this day. While it looked unorganized, it was highly effective.

Xavier finally removed the scope from his eyes and glared down at the building. No one had come in or out except for one of the two men, bringing in boxes of pizzas and takeout food. He always came out empty handed, showing that there were people in there, and that they either didn't know how to cook, didn't have time for it, or loved greasy food. What also caught his attention that there were no parked cars in the area, so whoever inside obviously hadn't left in a long time.

Xavier brought his hand to his ear, pushing down on the ear piece that doubled as a communicator. He was about to speak when a voice came through the link. "Wildcard, have you found anything yet?"

"Draculina, that you?" He hissed, his voice lower than a whisper. He took the switch to code names in stride. Never knew who was monitoring, though he thought her code name was rather obvious.

"Affirmative Wildcard. I'd just finished my report to the boss in regards to my recent actions. What's your status?"

He raised the scope in his right hand and stared through it at the old building. "It seems intel hit the mark on that last site. Draculina, this is it. Tell the old man to send in a team."

"Understood Wildcard. Wait until I get there, regardless of whether or not the team makes it there."

He frowned at that. "Give me five minutes and ten men and I'll clean the place out Draculina."

"If you do that, you lose your own bet. Don't make me think up some torture for you." The voice was less formal at the last part, more playful. "Besides, you know I'll be there before them anyway. Don't forget who you're talking to."

Xavier sighed, placing the binoculars on the edge of his lookout and pulled out a coin. He flipped it in the air without paying attention and said, "Then get your pretty little ass over here. After all this detective work, I'm ready to cause some mayhem."

"You're such a child." The voice said as if annoyed.

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true darling." He said with a hint of amusement as he dropped his hand from his ear and snapped out and caught the coin before it fell back to his other hand. He replaced it in his pocket but withdrew a cigarette. He withdrew his lighter and lit it up, taking a long drag off as he did so. He exhaled the smoke as he placed the lighter back in his pocket and thought to himself, _It's been a long time since I've seen her work. Perhaps its the time to show her how much my skills have improved. Heh, maybe I'll try to land a blow on her. I should be able to do it now..._

Ten minutes later Xavier's ears picked up the sounds of someone climbing up the side of the building. He heard the steps on the metal ladder as he rose to his feet, dropping the cigarette from his fingers and squashing it beneath his shoe. He rolled up his sleeves, and pulled his black gloves tighter to his hand. He grinned at the mechanism built into the gloves that had served him well for as long as he had worked in the hunting business.

He broke out of his observations as he watched a feminine hand pulled herself up and over the edge of the roof. Seras hopped to her feet and brushed her dark blue trench coat off. She looked up and saw the man staring at her with a small grin. "Wipe that stupid grin off your face and give me an overview of the situation."

Xavier sighed, raising his hands in defeat. "Take a look for yourself." He said, tossing the binoculars to her.

She merely caught them and then tossed them back, "I don't need them." He shrugged and watched as she began to look at the building that Xavier had been watching all day. She watched the building for a long time before saying, "I don't sense any dark energies. Though that could just mean that they're smart. Or they know we're out here and are shielding it."

Xavier flipped a coin and caught with his other hand. "So what's the move? The team will be showing up soon, right?"

Seras nodded then looked upwards towards the sky, which was beginning to show more and more of the early morning light to come. "We'll enter the factory from its roof. Let's wrap this up before the men show up."

"So you're going in from the roof and I'll go through the front door." Xavier said with a chuckle, pulling the glove on his right hand tighter.

Seras shook his head and said, "Didn't you hear me? I said 'we' will go in from the roof."

Xavier looked to her with a confused look. "And how do you... oh shit." He began but when he felt the woman grab him and throw him over her shoulder and begin to run towards the edge of the roof the rest came out as a curse. He watched in annoyance as she hopped over from one building to the next, without the attention of the men on the street. She placed Xavier down and gave him a small chuckle. He merely brushed himself off and said under his breath, "Damn showoff."

"Enough complaining Wildcard. It's time to work." She said, removing her guns from the inside of her coat. She checked to make sure both were loaded then replaced them before looking towards the door that led inside.

Xavier merely chuckled in what seemed like glee as he walked over to the door and opened it before turning back to Seras and giving a small bow of his head. "Ladies first, my dear."

Seras chuckled in response and walked through. "Remember, this assignment isn't over until we clear this place out. Wouldn't want you to forget about our little bet."

Xavier merely closed the door behind them and pulled his gloves tighter. "I think you'll look good in a red dress. I still have to find a good restaurant." Seras merely rolled her eyes as the two quickly began to descend the staircase.

-

The data never lies. It was a concept that Dr. James Silveston believed in to the utmost degree. Working as a biologist for most of his adult life, he knew that living things only reacted in planned ways, depending on the organism. Everything became so routine, automatic in regards to those matters once the behaviors and stimuli had been analyzed. The process of life is rather boring once its broken down.

The boredom irritated him. Which was the main reason that he was where he was now. When a man in a business suit approached him, giving him the offer to work on something that modern science could not explain, he indulged in his scientific curiosity and accepted. The concept of the biology of a vampire, a legendary monster, was intriguing, far too intriguing to pass up. Especially the different aspects of the creatures reactions to stimuli, their internal functions, and the way they reproduced. The idea that genetics didn't play a role in the propagation of the species was amazing, something that he never really believed, nor could he explain to this day, despite all the time and research he had spent developing the process.

"Dr. Silveston, could you look over the data from the newest batch of microchips?" Another doctor asked, carrying over a clipboard with a rather large report attached to it.

"Of course Dr. Higgens. It'd be my pleasure." He said, accepting the clipboard and watching as the other doctor walked away, presumably to work on one of his experiments. Silveston merely looked over the documents for a long time, pacing back and forth as he read the research findings, the designs of the microchips that they designed, and why they actually did what they did. The concept of circuitry turning someone into the undead was something out of a horror novel, but Silveston and his colleagues had accomplished it.

"It's amazing how close we've come to developing a 'perfect' being...." He mused to himself as he placed down the report and rubbed his eyes to dispel any weariness that existed.

"Perfect being my ass." Came a brash voice to his right. The man bolted from his seat and took a look at the new arrival that had startled him. On the other side of the room were two people, one man and one woman. The man was wearing a pair of slacks and a polo shirt with a leather jacket over it, an angry scowl crossing his face. He wore a pair of black gloves, something which struck the scientist as unusual, but what really bothered him were the man's eyes. They were so drenched in malice and hatred that it caused the older scientist to cringe.

The woman on the other hand betrayed nothing with her expression. She was a short haired brunette, wearing a long dark blue trench coat, a pair of white gloves with markings the likes he had never seen before, and a pair of dark purple sunglasses. She merely leaned against the door frame as he companion glared angrily at the older man.

"Who are you people? This is a restricted area!" He said, taking a step towards the two new arrivals.

The woman removed her sunglasses, revealing a pair of blood red eyes. "We're here to shut you down."

Realization dawned on the man, but he merely asked, "Why? We're ahead of schedule. It won't be long before the microchip will be perfected. You can tell Lorenz that!"

Seras raised an eyebrow at the man's vehement claim. "And who, pray tell, is Lorenz?" She asked, shifting slightly in order to show the emblem of the Hellsing Institution on his coat.

Xavier merely watched as the older man paled at seeing the symbol. "You have no idea how much trouble you're in, do you?" The scientist took a step back, terrified that the authorities had found them. He then did the first thing that came to his mind: he ran for the door.

"Not so fast!" Xavier said, flicking his hand out and sending out his silver strands. Two of the strands wrapped around the man's leg, tripping him and making fall to the floor. The other strands merely caught the door knob of the exit and pulled the door shut, a loud click signifying that the door was now closed. A thin smile covered his face as he approached the man lying on the floor.

Seras took a few steps towards the man and said, "Looks like we have one of the brains behind the freak chips."

"I should kill this bastard right now." Xavier said, grabbed the man's throat with his free hand and lifting his face to meet his own.

Seras shook her head. "I'm sure the boss would want him alive. Him, and his research."

"So this guy isn't going to get punished?" Xavier said, a snort of distaste filling the air.

"Far from it, but let's just round up the eggheads and their research documents then torch this place."

"I don't get paid to go geek hunting." Xavier said with a dry voice.

Seras was about to say something when gunfire erupted in the air. "Looks like the cavalry is here." She said with a hint of amusement. Then she suddenly jerked her head to the side and frowned.

"What?" Xavier asked.

"We have a unexpected guest it seems." Seras said as she replaced her purple sunglasses and walked out of the room. She paused at the door frame and ordered, "Send orders to the men to capture as many of the eggheads as possible. Kill only those who attack and try to salvage any research. You take care of the freaks that come up."

"Understood. What are you going to do?"

She paused for a moment before grinning a devilish grin and said, "I have vermin to kill. There's one here who smells like me." Thats all she said before walking through the door into the shadows.

"Whaa.....?" Xavier said weakly, raised an eyebrow as his voice trailed off. He then grabbed his head in annoyance before yanking the captive to his feet and saying, "Move it egghead. You're going to bring me to your data.... now!"

-

"Where the hell did these guys come from?" One guard said as he looked over the flimsy barricade that he and his partner were hiding behind as the gunfire peppered the general area.

His partner reached around and fired his pistol until it was empty before retreating behind the shelter and inserting a new clip. "No clue! That bastard never said anything about a spec ops team invading!"

"How much we getting paid for this shit?" The first one asked, firing his gun a few times before ducking back under cover.

His friend went to answer him but stopped when he saw that the first man was dead from a bullet to the head. Then he cursed under his breath, saying in a subdued voice, "Not enough."

"You've done well, for a pair of humans I suppose." A voice came from above him. He looked up to see about six men drop from the ceiling, carrying uzis. They landed next to him and opened fired at the attacking team. After a brief firefight, the second guard merely stood up in shock and stared at the team that was now dead.

"Thanks for the save..." He said under his breath.

"Whoever said anything about saving you, food?" Said the man closest to him. The only thing that guard saw before he died was a pair of red eyes and a hand going through his chest.

The freak vampire from behind the guard withdrew his arm and and licked the blood off of his fingers. "Worthless trash." He said as he continued to lick up the blood.

"Keep focused or Lorenz will have our heads." Said another freak who came walking up to his alley, his hands in his pockets, the uzi hanging in a chest holster.

"He's right. We still have work to do. Let's get rid of the moths that are coming to the flame." Another said, spitting off to the side.

"Hey, looks like we got a live one over here." said another freak as he gently kicked a fallen Hellsing soldier. The others merely walked over, smiles of either irritation for not having killed the man, or sick amusement at getting to watch the soldier's last moments.

The Hellsing soldier merely glared at the vampires, spitting out some blood in their direction. "Undead scum. Don't think you've won. We have the place surrounded, and two of our best are in here."

One of the freaks shrugged, removing his machine gun from its holster and pointing it directly at the man's skull. "Doesn't matter, we'll kill them too. It's not like you guys are the only ones with reinforcements."

The Hellsing laughed weakly before saying, "You won't be killing anyone ever again you scum, because you're going to die here!" He then uncovered his hands to show a grenade with no pin. "See you in hell!"

The explosive rang through the halls of the abandoned warehouse/office building. When the smoke cleared, all that remained was the charred flesh of dead humans and freaks.

-

Xavier almost stumbled as he felt the shockwave of a large blast. His little captive was nowhere nearly as nimble however, and fell forward onto his hands and knees. _What the hell was that?_ Xavier thought as he grabbed the man's collar and yanked him back to his feet. He then raised his hand to the earpiece and asked into the com-link, "Hellsing HQ, this is Wildcard. What the hell is going on?"

Xavier was met with wild static before hearing a response. "Wildcard this is Command. Reinforcements from the enemy. Freak vampires with automatic weapons. We were caught off guard. What's your status?"

"I have one of the scientists with me. I'm en route to picking up the research then we're getting the hell out of here."

"What about Draculina?"

"She disappeared on me, something about taking out some vermin. Looks like we have a pure blood somewhere nearby." Xavier said as the scientist led into a room with a few computers. He looked to the elder man and asked, "Which one has the data?"

The man pointed at one of the computers and said, "It's all on that one." Xavier walked over and kicked the computer's case over, causing the man to gasp in shock. "What do you think you're doing?"

Xavier ignored the man as he pulled a swiss army knife out from his pocket. He tossed it to the scientist and said, "Get that thing's hard drive. Do it!" He ordered, turning his back to the man to see if anyone was following them.

"Wildcard, repeat your last transmission. You're breaking up." Came the voice through his com-link.

"I repeat, there is a pure blood nearby." He said drying, his gaze going from the door to the man who was hastily trying to open the computer's case.

"Oh dear god...." Came the broken voice through the ever-increasing static.

"Focus! Leave the blood sucker to Draculina. Our focus is to get rid of the freaks and to take the captives and research out alive and intact." Xavier yelled harshly through the link.

"Understood Wildcard. Inform us if anything comes up."

"Roger that command. Get those boy's moving." Xavier then turned back to the man working furiously at the computer and said, "Get a move on old man. Don't make me break your hip."

"Here it is." The man said, his tone defeated as he handed the hard drive to Xavier. Xavier grabbed the thing and tucked it inside the pocket in his jacket before nodding his head.

"Let's go then. I suggest you move quicker if you don't want to die, this place is turning into a war zone fast." Xavier said in a deadly tone as he pushed the man towards the door. They walked out into the hallway only to be met by a squad of freaks with machine guns. Xavier only had one thought before attacking, _Why me?_

-

Seras walked through the empty room slowly, purposely. She knew that she was expected and smiled to herself. She gently pushed up her sunglasses a little bit as she continued to walk, eyes straight ahead, ignoring all the sounds of gunfire and general chaos that seemed to echo throughout the complex.

She then stopped, frowning as she felt someone watching her. "Well, don't keep me waiting trash. I have more important fish to fry; let's get this over with." She said as she cracked her knuckles once.

It was at this point where four freak vampires jumped out from the ceiling at her. They landed, surrounding her as if she was in the middle of a square. The two in front attacked, holding knives ready to slash her to pieces. She merely grabbed the one coming in from the left by his throat and threw him into the freak behind her and to the left. As this all took place, she sent her hand through the only coming in from the right's chest, directly through the heart. The vampire crumbled into dust as she spun around, avoiding the close range gunfire from the freak behind her and to the right. She grabbed his arm that held the gun and broke it, causing the female freak to scream before Seras flipped her over her shoulder to the ground. As the vampire hit the ground, Seras sent her boot through the woman's head, crushing it. Within moments the second vampire was also reduced to dust. Seras merely turned to face the other two vampires who were slowly shaking their heads and rising to their feet. Seras chuckled once more before charging in and sending her hand through another heart as she kicked the other behind the knees. It was after the third turned to dust where Seras grabbed the top of the last one's head and sent a knife hand chop towards the last freak's neck. Her blow easily decapitated the last vampire, sending the head flying through the air. It never hit the ground as both head and body crumbled into dust.

Seras merely rose back to her full height and pushed her sunglasses up again. "To call this a test is an insult. Get down here, I have no time to waste on these pawns." Seras said, her voice icy and anger apparent. It was then that there was a loud gunshot fired. Seras jumped back as the bullet landed in front of her.

Five more shots rang out, each one coming closer to Seras. It was after the second shot when Seras realized the bullets weren't actually aimed to hit her, just hit around her. She stopped moving until she saw the fifth bullet coming directly at her face. She turned her head, the bullet grazing the side of her head as it passed by. Seras slowly turned back around to face in front of her, a small trickle of blood coming down the side of her head.

It was then that the attacker decided to show herself. "Well done, Seras Victoria. You're as good as I've heard you to be." The woman said, slowly walking out, an old fashioned revolver in her hand. Seras noticed that the end of the gun was still smoking slightly in amusement but turned her attention back to the woman speaking. She was a vampire, no doubt about that. Her red eyes were lit up with playful malice as she looked over Seras, flipping the empty gun around in her right hand. She flicked her green hair back behind her with her left hand as she continued to spin the gun around with her right. She was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and an old fashioned bandoleer across her waist. She was wearing a white shirt with a black jacket on over it, an odd contrast considering the rest of the woman's appearance.

It was then that Seras watched her sunglasses slip off her nose and fall to the ground. She cast a glance at them, noticing that the one edge of the frame had been damaged with that last bullet. The lenses were also now cracked from hitting the floor. Seras looked back up to the woman in front of her and said, "Those were really expensive, you know?"

The woman merely chuckled as she flipped the gun once more into the air, having it land in a holster at her waist. "I apologize for that. Please forgive me Seras."

Seras raised an eyebrow as she began to walk towards the woman. "It isn't proper to refer to me as if you know me." _Looks like we have a cowgirl._

The woman merely chuckled once more as she matched her opponent's speed and began walking forward as well. "Ah, but I do know you. Seras Victoria, born Janurary 21st, 1976. Former member of London's assault team D11 from years 1998 to 2000. You lost your humanity on the night of may 12th, 2000. You have been working for the Royal Protestant Knights for the last one hundred and thirty years, acting as their trump card from when your former master, the vampire Alucard, was sealed on orders from the crown."

Seras merely raised an eyebrow at the onslaught of her past as the two approached each other. "Impressive, someone paid attention in school when the teacher taught about research."

"Why thank you."

"So who are you cowgirl? From the little show with that gun, I want to say Annie Oakly." Seras said with amusement, revealing a single fang in her small smile.

The two stopped as they passed each other, but didn't face the other. "Kylie Wallace, the one who will kill you."

"You're an old one, aren't you?"

"Older than you my dear." Kylie responded as she flipped her green hair behind her again. She then took off her jacket and tossed it to the side, removing any restriction that it may have caused.

Seras openly began to laugh at that before sending a backhand towards the back of the woman's head. Kylie merely flipped upwards and out of the way, spinning once in order to face Seras from when she landed. She had her revolver out, but didn't raise it. Instead, she turned slightly and emptied the spinning chamber of the gun. The bullet casings fell out and hit the floor as she spun it once more. She reached onto her bandoleer and pulled out another six bullets in a quick reload device for the gun, allowing her to load all six bullets in at once. "This is the greatest handgun ever made, the Colt Single Action Army. Made well before our times."

She spun the chamber once more then locked it in place before continuing to spin the gun in her right hand. "Six shots, more than enough to kill anything that moves. Undead or otherwise." She flipped the gun up into the air and over her body. She reached around behind her with her left hand and caught the spinning gun before bringing it back around while still spinning the old fashioned pistol.

Seras shrugged. "I'm not much into weaponry little cowgirl. I just pull the trigger." She said, removing her dark blue jacket and tossing it to the side. It was now easy to see the double shoulder holsters that held the Jackal and Cassul handguns.

Kylie sighed as if disappointed. "That's a shame dearie, the evolution of weapons mimics that of humanity. It's quite interesting once you get started." She then flipped the gun from her left hand back into her right then spun it once more before placing it in her holster. She then raised her hands, as if provoking Seras.

Sensing the woman's thoughts, Seras raised an eyebrow. "You can't seriously want a quick draw." _She has watched way too many old westerns. Or perhaps she was actually alive during that time, who knows._

A frown crossed the woman's face as she said in a pouting voice, "Aw, and here I thought I would have some fun." The mocking face was soon removed by an ice cold stare. "I guess I'll just have to kill you now."

Seras glared back. "I'll be glad to send you to the abyss with the guns of my Master." She said, as she slowly removed the guns from their double holsters. She held them down at her sides, not raising them.

The two stared at each other, their intent being the exact same. Kylie withdrew a coin from her pocket and said, "We'll start when this hits the ground." Seeing the other woman's look of disbelief, she added, "Indulge me." She then flipped the coin into the air.

The coin seemed to float in the air, rotating as if in slow motion. It then began its slow descent towards the ground. The sound of the coin hitting was covered up by the sudden gunfire.

_It looks like a quick draw took place after all...._

_--------_

AN: I know I promised mayhem and excitement like in chapter 1, but I decided to seperate the battle(s) to come. Next chapter revolves around Flynn, the one after that will be Seras' battle with the cowgirl.


	13. Chapter 12

Okay finally got around to writing this chapter. I guess I'll take this time to answer some questions while I'm at it:

Rudilynne: Yeah, that was actually my intent. I really just wanted to find out the name of the gun ocelot used and have it be her weapon but it did end up evolving into that scene. Well, it works so I'm not complaining.

Ice Appeal: I don't know about being a fav story, but to answer your question... let's put it this way, if I gave them an actual name, odds are they will end up becoming main characters.

'Where is this story going?' Seems to be another one people have asked alot. Well, its finally been mapped out on paper and I'm hoping you people like reading long fics. As it is, its looking to be 27 chaps total, give or take depending on if I feel like splitting stuff up more or combining some of my ideas. As for the return of Alucard, just wait and see.

Now on to the chapter.

**Chapter Twelve: Beyond Humanity**

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left."

Xavier merely looked at the group of freaks that had cornered them after they had left the computer room. He watched the scientist sigh in relief and had to stop himself from hitting the man. The fool walked forward saying, "Tell Lorenz he has my thanks. Feel free to take care of this scum."

The freaks merely looked at each other before breaking out laughing like hysterical women. The leader then merely pointed his machine gun at the scientist and pulled the trigger.

Dr. Silveston couldn't believe it. Things seemed to slow down as he watched the vampire point the gun at him. He could've sworn he saw the muzzle flare and even the bullets leaving the chamber of the gun. It was then that something pushed him out of harms way.

That something was one Xavier Flynn, tackling the man as if he was a professional defensive lineman. "Move you idiot!" Xavier yelled as he dove at the man. He grabbed the old scientist with his left arm as he reached around the man's body with his right to throw out his strands. The vampires didn't even notice them until it was too late. With one quick twist of his wrists, five of them no longer had heads. Their remains turned to dust and hit the floor before the two men even stopped rolling.

_God damn my arm hurts. That was stupid, you forced the guy to land on your arm._ Xavier quickly took notice that he had not killed all the freaks and jumped away from the scientist, executing a backflip in the air. He quickly retracted his strands and attacked again, whipping the silver wires out with reckless abandon. He watched as the strands from his index and middle fingers wrapped around the two attackers' necks and then he merely twisted his fingers to form a fist, bringing the silver wires backwards, decapitating the vampires.

Xavier retracted his threads completely before breathing a sigh of relief.He rotated his right arm in a clockwise motion before going back to check on the stunned doctor. "Hey, you alright?"

The man merely starred at Xavier as if he had three heads. "You... just killed those vampires..."

Xavier seemed to frown at that. "Yeah... that is kinda what I do."

The man bolted to his feet with the energy of a child, surprising Xavier to no end. "Amazing! Are you some kind of half breed, perhaps some new experimental being?"

"Whaaaa?" Xavier asked, trailing off, quite confused by the old man's demeanor. _The hell is he talking about?_

"You have to be. There aren't any humans capable of killing vampires." He exclaimed excitedly. "They're practically indestructible. You must have monstrous strength."

This was where Xavier merely shook his head. "Vampires can't touch silver. They died because silver cuts through them like a hot knife through butter. My physical strength had nothing to do with it."

The man's face fell, like a child finding out the truth about the easter bunny. "Oh... I see." The man seemed to go into deep thought before Xavier grabbed the man's collar and pushed him down the hallway.

"You have no idea who we are, do you?" Xavier finally asked as the old scientist.

The man shook his head. "Lorenz did say someone might show up and try to stop us. He said he'd take care of it though."

Xavier remained silent as the two continued down the hallway. Finally he asked, "Just why did you do it? Don't you realize you're creating a plague."

The man scoffed at Xavier's accusing tone. "Hardly. We were merely trying to correct the mistakes in man."

That comment seemed to enrage Xavier as he grabbed the old man's collar and slammed him against the wall. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He yelled, slammed the man's head against the wall again after he finished.

The doctor didn't seemed fazed in the slightest. "This is why I hate non-researchers. They just don't understand the beauty of vampiric biology."

"What beauty? They kill and feed on human beings, turn them into ghouls and are incapable of reproducing without first killing a virgin. What is so god damn beautiful about all that?" Xavier yelled.

The old man merely glared at the younger one, an equal amount of contempt on his face. "They are the next stage of human evolution. Impervious to damage, nearly immortal, stronger, faster, heightened senses and reflexes. If it wasn't for the drawing of blood, sensitivity to strong light, and now that I know about it, deathly reactions to silver, they would be a perfect being."

"They are evil! They are vile parasites living off of the human race. Don't even tell me you believe what you just said." Xavier said coldly, dropping the man to the floor. He then just grabbed his head in annoyance, "You know what, I don't want to hear anymore. Just show me the way out of here. I'll leave you to ol' man Hellsing, any torture I could come up with will pale in comparison to what he'll probably do."

The scientist stood up and brushed the dirt off of his lab coat. "The exit is this way." He said coldly, turning down a hallway. He froze when he rounded the corner, a look of surprise evident on his face. "You!" He declared, his arm extending out and pointing at whoever was there.

Xavier looked confused then narrowed his eyes as he rushed forward to the other side of the man. Standing there in a dark brown business suit was something Xavier was not expecting. The man had slick backed black hair tied back into a ponytail. He merely looked at Xavier as if he was staring at a dog. Turning back to the scientist, he said, "Dr. Silveston, it's good to see you alive and well."

The doctor breathed a sigh of relief as he took a few steps forward towards the vampire, speaking as if they were old friends. "Lorenz, good thing you're here." He then glared at Xavier and said, "If you could get rid of that man there, we can move on with the project. We have the designs done, and a series of chips already made."

Lorenz grinned, still ignoring Xavier despite the man's glare of hatred. "Excellent. However, if we really are that far along we no longer have a use for you." His red eyes then narrowed and Xavier's glare become a look of disgust as he watched the vampire shove his hand through the man's chest. The doctor gurgled up blood as he was lifted in the air, his blood covering Lorenz's hand.

"Lo..re..nz... you.... lyin... bas...tard!" The man sputtered out in between gobs of blood from his mouth.

"The dead should remain silent." Lorenz said, his voice icy cold as he swung his arm outwards. The body flew and impacted against the wall, blood splattering against it. The body dropped down the wall, leaving a dark trail the size of a fist of crimson gore. Lorenz pulled out a white handkerchief and began to wipe the blood from his other hand. "Tsk, I just had this cleaned." He then turned to Xavier and stared once again.

Xavier was no longer silent at this. He attacked with a yelled, flicking his wrist out towards the vampire. The vampire seemed bored as he watched the strands trying to wrap around his body parts. At the last moment, right before Xavier twisted his wrist to ensnare the vampire, Lorenz merely jumped up in the air towards Xavier, catching the man off-guard. Xavier merely looked up in annoyance, one thought lingering in his mind.

_This is going to hurt... a lot._

Lorenz's came down from above, clasping his hands together and bringing them down on Xavier's left shoulder with such force that Xavier felt his collarbone break just from the residual force along with his actual shoulder. He screamed in pain as he quickly jumped back, retrieving his strands in the process. Lorenz merely followed his movement, sending a fist through the man's defenses and impacted against his stomach. Xavier keeled over in pain, feeling all the air rush from his body. He fell forward to his knees and his right arm as the pain hit, causing him to vomit violently on the floor in front of him.

Lorenz merely watched in cold amusement as the human retched up his last meal. _So this is one of Hellsing's proud Division S operatives. No better than a normal human. _"Is that all a member of Hellsing can do? Tsk, mere trash."

Xavier finished vomiting and slowly raised his right arm to wipe his mouth. He didn't raise his eyes but said with a hint of amusement, "So you're the pure blood Victoria was talking about?"

Lorenz's expression didn't change as he answered, "No. The woman is fighting one of my associates now. I only came to make sure the head of the project died before he was able to tell you anything." He cocked his head to the side in a mocking manner as he added, "I was also wondering about the strength of Hellsing's forces. If they're all as weak as you, its quite a sad development."

"Go to hell." Xavier said quietly as he quickly twisted his right wrist. Lorenz didn't even see it coming as the silver strands that had been wrapped around his right arm tore it from his body. Xaiver merely stood up and hopped backwards as he retracted the strands. "You honestly didn't think all I was doing was talking, did you?" He asked, an amused tone coming through his voice.

Lorenz took a few steps backwards, looking idly at the place where his right arm used to be. _That was a surprise. He totally got me on that one._ "Impressive human. You took my arm with little difficultly. My opinion of you has gone up slightly." He then looked at Xavier with a cruel smile. Xavier watched in shock as bloody mist seemed to come out from the shoulder's socket and take shape to form a new arm for the vampire. When it was finished regenerating, it had no clothing over it but it seemed to be fully healed. Lorenz briefly flexed the muscles in it then said, "Although it has been my experience that humans often place too much value on flesh."

Xavier merely frowned in response as he slowly tried to move his left shoulder. When it failed to respond, he scoffed angrily. He flexed the fingers of his right hand briefly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette. He patted down his jacket for his lighter, trying to find the small device, when the vampire laughed and flicked his hand forward, igniting the end of the cigarette. Xavier stared a bit at the floating flame before inhaling. The cigarette shifted to the other side of his mouth as he asked, "So you're the ringmaster of this little freak circus?"

Lorenz laughed at the human's calm front. "You could say I'm a middleman, much like Miss Victoria."

Xavier exhaled through his nose before speaking again, getting himself into a defensive stance. "Xavier Flynn, Hellsing trash removal division."

"Lorenz Kilten." He still didn't move from where he had been standing, even as Xavier attacked again, his strands flying towards the vampire's neck and other vital spots. He merely shifted again and stepped out of the way. "As much as I'd love to stay around and play with you Mr. Flynn, I really have tell my compatriot to hurry up destroying Hellsing's ace."

Xavier retracted his strands before asking, "You honestly think that I'll let you go? You die here."

Lorenz began to laugh openly at the remark. When he finally recomposed himself he merely held up his hand and snapped his fingers. At that sound, Xavier found himself staring down a group of ghouls with automatic weapons. "If you really need someone to play with, I'll leave you with some playmates. I really must be going, though I suppose we will meet again."

He then turned and walked away, leaving a detachment of ghouls to fight Xavier. Xavier merely cursed under his breath as his right fingers twitched again. _Figures. Draculina,you better be doing better than me right now._

-

Lorenz walked slowly away, leaving the Hellsing operative in the hands of the ghouls. He idly wondered if killing Silveston had been the best course of action then merely dropped the train of thought. _What's done is done. _He then found himself thinking back to the man who had just taken an arm from him. His gaze traveled down to his uncovered right arm as he heard the sound of gunfire _Interesting man. Much better than I had been expecting. Makes me curious to see the other members of that unit. They could provide us with... much amusement._

He then turned around another corner and began walking towards a shadowed room. _Well, to be thought about later. Right now we have to deal with Victoria. Kylie has shown great aptitude for gun fighting, but her familiar is far from being strong. If it comes down to a battle of powers, she will be slaughtered._

He reached into his pocket to retrieve a small green stone and held it up to his eye. _I still don't know why we just don't kill her. It would be simpler. I wonder what the master is thinking... Best not to ask too many questions._ He placed the stone back into his pocket and then vanished into the shadows, searching for the other pure bloods in the building.

-

Lt. Griphten merely stood in a disturbed silence as he watched the retreat from the building. The reinforcements had caught the Hellsing unit off guard, resulting in far more casualties than he ever thought possible. _This is even worse than my first mission as leader._ He thought grimly as he watched several of his fellow soldiers being pulled out by their comrades. He grabbed his healing arm in frustration, feeling useless as the rest of the unit was being slaughtered. Though from what he was sensing from the building, he doubted that he would really be able to help anyone.

"Command, do you read me? This is Wildcard." A voice came over the command line. Griphten pulled his hand back and raised it to his ear.

"Roger that Wildcard, we hear you loud and clear. What's your status?" Griphten responded. He didn't know exactly who he was talking about but knew that the man was from the group that he would be sent to in less than a week. The unit was supposed to have talent that was on par with Victoria's, which is to be commended from human soldiers.

"I'm coming out now. I lost the egghead, there was an unannounced visitor. The prick took out the scientist and did a number on me. I still have the data."

"Roger that Wildcard. We're taking on heavy casualties here. What's Draculina's situation? We haven't heard from her in a long time."

Xavier merely shook his head as he exited the building and began walking towards the Hellsing vehicles. "She's busy. Which one are you?" Xavier asked as he looked around.

Griphten raised an eyebrow in confusion before looking around in turn. He saw someone he didn't recognize and raised his hand slightly. The man nodded and began to walk towards him. We he reached Griphten, he removed something from his coat and handed to Griphten. "This is the hard drive that has the data. Take this back on the next car to leave. This is the priority. Call back the men."

Griphten held up the hard drive in his hand then handed it off to another soldier. "Start rounding up the men and get out of here. Our mission is complete, the wounded get priority. Take them back to the manner immediately." He called out, barking out orders.

Now Xavier raised an eyebrow at this. Judging from the the marks on the man's uniform, the man before him was just a Lieutenant. However, from the way the other soldiers were taking his orders without question, it resembled the way a battle-hardened leader was obeyed. _Eh, who cares. Not like it really matters at this point._

Xavier turned and walked towards one of the vans, coming upon a cache of weapons in the back. Xavier hopped up quickly and began to go through it. He smiled with an insane grin as he pulled out a series of grenades and placed them in his pockets. He also grabbed an automatic pistol and a few clips of ammo. He made sure the safety was on then tucked the gun into the back of his pants, placing the ammo clips in the inside pockets of his jacket.

Griphten noticed this with confusion. He blinked once before taking a good look at the special operative supposedly on a level with Hellsing's trump card. Finally Griphten noticed the damage to Xavier's left shoulder and asked, "You need a medic? That looks pretty bad."

Xavier cursed as the man mentioned his injury, the pain resurfacing at the mention of it. Xavier grabbed his left shoulder with his right hand and shook his head. He turned and began walking back into the building. "Lieutenant, get the men out of here. Your job here is done. Leave one squad and one car out here for us."

Griphten frowned at that. He walked in front of Xavier and glared at him, causing him to stop walking. "Where do you think you're going in such a state?"

Xavier's eye twitched slightly at the man's challenge but only said, "My job isn't done yet."

"Your job was the same as ours. Victoria can handle herself, she doesn't need your help." Griphten said, not backing down from the man's glare.

"Know you're place Lieutenant!" Xavier barked at the soldier, causing the man to take a step back.

The man scratched the back of his head in annoyance before saying, "Even if you find her, you won't be able to help her with both pure bloods."

Xavier was about to reply when he paused, realizing something the man had said. "How did you know about the other pure blood? I never called it in."

Griphten merely shook his head. "I sense two others like Victoria in that building. The rest are mere fodder for those two that she is fighting." A cocky grin covered the man's face as he truth was told. As per Victoria's orders, Griphten had been refining his ability as much as he could. In fact, he really wasn't sure if the two he was speaking about were pure bloods, only that they felt just like the feeling that Victoria gave off.

Xavier looked at the man before realization dawned. A thin grin covered his face as he pointed at Griphten a hint of amusement. "You're the vamp-radar guy that Victoria told me about. The one who's getting sent to the facility." Griphten frowned at the nickname given to him but nodded. Xavier merely grabbed the man's collar and pulled him along. "Good, you can tell me the way."

Griphten fought his way out of the man's grasp and sighed in defeat. "There's nothing I can say to stop you is there?"

"How about this radar-boy?" Xavier asked, pulling out a pair of dice from his pocket. "Odd's or even? If you call it wrong, you're taking me to Draculina and her little friends. Else, I'll just wait out here with you and the rest."

Casting the strange man a surprised look, he said slowly, "Even."

Xavier nodded and tossed the dice. They bounced and rolled until they stopped. "Well lookey here, looks like its craps and you're showing me the way. Thats the way it goes, lady luck is always on my side when I need her." Xavier said with a hint of amusement as he walked over and picked up the dice.

Griphten merely grabbed his head in annoyance before pulling out his pistol and making sure it was loaded. He gestured towards the building and said, "Come on you idiot." Xavier merely followed behind like a grinning idiot, taking much amusement in the man's irritation.

The factory was nearly abandoned now. Most of the Hellsing soldiers had already fallen back outside the building, but the traces of gunfire could be heard in the background as the two slowly and cautiously advanced deeper into the facility. Xavier constantly pulled his right glove tighter to his hand, as if that small act would aid him in the fight. Griphten merely held up his own gun in one hand while gesturing directions with the other. It was understood that there was to be no speaking while they entered.

Finally the two entered one of the larger rooms in the factory, machinery on both sides of them with a series of catwalks in the upper levels. Griphten froze as they entered this room, bringing his hand up with his fist clentched. Xavier walked up next to him with his hands in his pockets and whispered, "What is it?"

Griphten shook his head. "I must be on edge, I only just sensed them now. I was too focused on the others to see these ones coming." He whispered sharply. Xavier was about to ask what he was talking about when the side doors to the room burst open, each revealing a squad of freak vampires. They rushed in and surrounded the two humans, aimed their weapons and waited for what seemed like a command.

A single freak strode forward, a mp-5 machine gun in his right hand as he held it loosely at his side. His face was twisted into a smirk as he looked at what he and his men had caught. "Looks like those fools from Hellsing are still around. I thought we had wiped all of you maggots out."

Griphten merely replied back coldly, "Better a maggot than an artificial vampire."

The vampire merely laughed back at the remark. "Ah, and they have spunk! Well, I hope you gentlemen enjoyed your last few moments."

Xavier merely chuckled and slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets. "Radar-boy, it looks like you get to find out why they call me Wildcard!" He said to his companion. It was only then that Griphten noticed that Xavier's hands were full. He watched in shock as the man popped the pins from the two grenades that he held and tossed them towards the leader.

"Aw shit." The vampire said before copying the movements of his men and running away from the small explosives. Xavier merely reached behind him after he tossed the bombs and removed the automatic pistol from his waistband. He flicked off the safety with his thumb and unleashed a spray of silver bullets into the freaks behind the two Hellsing hunters. The surprise could not be described as the vampires watched themselves get gunned down by one of the humans they thought they had caught.

Griphten merely watched the scene in amazement before Xavier grabbed him and threw him to the side, behind a large piece of machinery. Xavier followed him, making a jumping dive to join his ally behind the makeshift shelter. The blast was deafening as the grenades finally exploded. Xavier merely handed the pistol and the clips back to Griphten. "You stay here and cover me. Don't try to be a hero, just kill as many as you can from a distance. Leave the close range fighting to me." With those words, Xavier then burst out from behind the shelter before the dust even cleared.

The sounds of coughing could be heard from Xavier's upper left. He glanced up to see a freak vampire up on top of the catwalk, holding his hand over his mouth and left and saw some of the freaks preparing to attack again. He quickly pulled out another grenade, pulled the pin and tossed it skywards, landing underneath the vampire on the catwalk. The fools never saw the explosion coming as the vampire on the catwalk was torn to shreds from the bomb, but nor did those underneath him as the catwalk fell downwards, landing on them and knocking them to the ground. Xavier merely dashed past, tossing another grenade underneath the rubble to make sure. He ducked behind another machine as the grenade exploded, finishing the job to that group.

Griphten then watched from afar as Xavier burst out again from behind his shelter to attack another few freaks directly. Back in the recesses of his mind he thought, _the way he's moving... that's not human._ He merely watched in stunned shock as the man's unique weapon continued to tear the freak vampires apart, leaving only piles of dust in his wake. Griphten shortly snapped out of his stunned uselessness and dashed forward, bringing up the automatic pistol in his right hand, while holding his own pistol in his left hand. He grimaced at the pain in his left hand, regretting his own injury yet again, but continued forward until he saw something to shoot.

The freaks had been far too concerned with the nimble silver stringer to even notice as the other Hellsing soldier opened fire on them with the two guns, mowing them down in a spray of silver bullets. He ducked behind some rubble as he emptied the clips and replaced them, idly wondering what he was doing in this place, fighting creatures that weren't supposed to exist.

Meanwhile Xavier was having no such thoughts. His right hand and wrist was flying in a blur, manipulating his strands to remove arms, legs, torsos and even heads from his enemies. One freak finally was able to tackle him into a wall and pointed his gun at the man's head. Xavier merely reacted without thinking. He pulled out a grenade from his pocket, popped the pin and then punched the vampire in the face. The unexpected move caused the vampire to loosen his grip and that was when Xavier grabbed for the man's pants and pulled them forward, dropping the grenade down the vampire's pants. The expression of absolute shock couldn't be read off the vampire's disbelieving face as he realized what Xavier had just done. Xavier didn't give him anymore time to think about it as he kicked the vampire's body away from him with right foot then took off in a sprint towards his left. He was barely able to dive behind some cover before the bomb exploded, leaving Xavier only with a smirk on his face. _I can't believe that just happened..._

Griphten was unaware of his ally's last... unique kill. He had his own hands full as he reached out from behind his shelter to fire at the last group of freak vampires. They had him pinned down as he attempted to return fire without much success. It was then that he realized that he was breathing heavily, sweat dripping down his face. The adrenaline was powering him and even though all these signs pointed to bad omens, he felt strangely calm. At least that was until he heard a familiar voice say, "Radar, relay toss!"

He looked up to see Xavier throwing a grenade in his direction. His eyes widened in surprise as the small explosive landed next to him behind his shelter. It was then that he noticed that there was no pin in it and Xavier's words then played in his ears. "Oh shit!" He yelled as he reached for the bomb and without looking or thinking tossed it towards the group of freaks. The bomb hit as soon as it landed, sending the freaks flying away from their destroyed shelter only to be ruthlessly cut down by Xavier's strands.

Finally, Griphten slowed his breathing and stood up from behind his shelter. "That's all of them." He said loud enough for his partner to hear. He watched as Xavier began walking back towards him, a strangely satisfied grin on his face. Griphten merely waited until Xavier was in front of him then belted the man across the face with his right hand. "Relay toss my ass you stupid fuck! What were you trying to do? You almost blew my ass to kingdom come!"

Xavier merely shrugged, wiping his sore mouth with the backside of his hand. "Don't knock it if it works kid." He then looked around to see all the damage caused by their little battle. Destroyed machinery, piles of dust that were formally vampire corpses, a destroyed catwalk. _I held too much back. The place is still standing..._ He then looked back to Griphten and said, "Well, let's get going. I want to just get Draculina then go have a drink."

Griphten had to refrain from belting the man across the face again.

-

"This should be it." Griphten said as then entered a rather large room. Xavier took a quick glance around. It was mostly empty, a few shelves here and there, but mostly resembling an empty warehouse. It was then that the two men heard the sounds of gunfire. The two exchanged glances, nodded, then began to run towards the sounds.

The two arrived just in time to see Seras and the green haired vampire gunfire at close range, close enough to grab each other's arms to divert the bullets trajectory. It looked like a scene out of a high-budget Hong Kong action movie as the two circled each other, each trying to gain the upper hand and send a silver bullet into the other's head.

"Unbelievable." Griphten said in a stunned voice as he watched the green haired vampire drop her six shooter to grab Seras' other hand, preventing the large black gun from getting any closer to her head.

Xavier could only nod in agreement as he watched Seras smile in satisfaction and send a front kick directly into the woman's jaw. The woman flipped backwards, landing in a crouching position, ready to dive back into the fray only to find that Seras had already gotten behind her, and was holding the Jackal aimed directly at her head. _Checkmate._

"She did better than expected." Xavier turned when he heard the voice and sent out his threads towards the voice. Lorenz merely stepped through them again as he chuckled at the situation. Xavier frowned in irritation, _How do I keep missing? Is his using some sort of illusion magic? _"You'll have to forgive me Mr. Flynn, but I need to finish this." Lorenz said in a low voice, withdrawing a green stone from his pocket. Xavier looked up when he heard a familiar cry. Seras was grabbing her head in what seemed like pain. The other vampire was still kneeling in front of Seras, not doing anything.

That was when Lorenz ran forward at a speed that Xavier had only seen Seras match. With one quick windup, he threw the green stone at Seras. It flew at a speed comparative to a bullet, striking Seras in the chest, causing her to scream out in intense pain. She fell backwards as it hit her, landing on her back with a dull thud, he two weapons scattering away from her body. Lorenz merely grabbed the other vampire, turning to the two Hellsing soldiers watching in shock and said, "Gentlemen, I'm afraid we must be going. Take care, we'll meet again." He then made a few quick motions with his right hand and the two vampires vanished, leaving a twitching Seras Victoria.

Xavier dashed towards the woman, wondering how badly she had been hurt. When he reached her he stopped, completely confused by what he was seeing. Seras didn't seemed to have any serious head wounds, nor could he see any blood from where the stone, or whatever it was, hit her. However, from the way she was twitching all over, her body writhing in what appeared like total agony, it was obvious that not everything was as it seemed. "Hey Victoria, snap out of it!"

The woman didn't seem to hear his response but swatted at him as if angry. Xavier's body flew into the air before landing ten feet away, back towards where Griphten had been waiting. Victoria's body still continued to convulse wildly and Griphten could see that her pupils had all but vanished from her red eyes, slightly disturbing him. _The hell is wrong with her?_ It was at that thought that she finally stopped moving and she closed her eyes. _Oh shit._

Xavier rose back to his feet, coughing up some blood before spitting it out to the side. He walked back over to Seras slowly and bent down at her unmoving form. Griphten soon joined him and looked down at the woman. "Is she dead?" He asked, his gaze switching from her body to the Division S operative.

"What are you, an idiot? She hasn't turned to dust yet, she's still alive." He then poked Seras's forehead a few times before saying, "Get on the horn to the men outside. Tell them to bring a stretcher to retrieve her. And tell ol' man Hellsing about this." He then grabbed his head in annoyance as he stood up, _Just what the hell is going on here?_

_-------_

A/N: I really wanted to do a better job describing Xavier's fighting technique, but in reality, the physics behind that weapon are hard to imagine, let alone describe. If you're having trouble, think of the way Walter fought in the series.  
A/N2: shameless plug Feel free to check out my other story, Dark Futures. For all you legend of Zelda fans. / shameless plug


	14. Chapter 13

To meet some concerns raised:

Akuma-sama: I hope this chapter satisfies your cravings more.  
Ice Appeal: Well, yeah. The erratic update suits my style though. I'm trying to come up with something to balance my time between work, the two separate stories, having a life, that little thing called sleep, etc. I tend to fall into mini-writer's blocks as well, seeing how I know what I want to happen in a chapter, just won't want to write it for some unknown reason.

Also, I'm trying to making this more episodic that my Zelda fic. That was something I just started to amuse myself one day and I kinda just kept going with it. This I had planned since... November maybe? I just didn't write much at school. I want people to read this and be like, 'you know, I could so see that in an actual episode.' Know what I mean?

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Little more vampiric action for all you Seras fans.  
Rurouni  
**----------------------**

**Chapter Thirteen: Soul's Gunfire**

"I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end."

"_We'll start when this hits the ground._" The words echoed in Seras head as the coin bounced once off the ground. Seras already had her twin pistols raised and unleashed a barrage of bullets towards her opponent. Kylie likewise had pulled out her six shooter and fired twice towards Seras. Seras cursed as one of the bullet's grazed her arm, causing her focus to increase dramatically. The Jackal and the Cassul were no mere toys and she would not be mocked by the use of a six shooter.

Kylie on the other hand seemed to find the beginning of the battle most enjoyable. She laughed in pleasure as she saw one of her shots graze Victoria's pale skin, despite feeling a similar pain on her left leg. She smiled an insane grin, _I won the quick draw, now to kill her._ She then dove out the side door, leaving Seras to give chase. _Master will be pleased once I kill her, even that fool Lorenz will give me the respect I deserve!_

Seras paused at the edge of the door before sticking the edge of the Cassul's barrel out. A single shot impacted against the gun, causing it to fly from Seras' hand and scattered across the ground of the room she was still in. Seras found herself feeling excited, something that always promised a fun battle. She slowly walked over to where the Cassul finally stopped and bent over to pick it up. She then turned towards the open doorway and smiled. She then dashed with speed that could baffle the human mind, seemingly disappearing one moment before reappearing somewhere else.

The speed was only average to a vampire though. Kylie watched in mild amusement as Seras entered her playground, one she had specifically prepared in case Lorenz's fear came to pass. The room that Seras had entered was filled with metal building supports that were made of thick steel. Within the room scattered around were random crates, as tall as the average basketball player. Kylie merely grinned like a mad woman as Seras calmly walked through the maze of wooden crates. _The game is now truly afoot._ She raised her Colt Single Action Army pistol in front of her face and could only think to herself, _three more shots before time to reload. I hope she lasts that long._

Seras walked through the maze of crates and supports, one pistol in each hand as her arms draped down at her sides. Her face betrayed nothing, but she was feeling conflicting emotions inside. On one side of her mind, he was intensely excited. The girl had been able to hit her once and from the looks of it, she was an accomplished marksman and gunfighter. The circus show aside, Seras knew that the girl had full control of that weapon, as if it was an extension of her being. Seras smiled as she thought to herself, _she isn't the only one that is good with guns._ She raised her guns up to her head level at that thought as she decided to turn left within the maze.

One the other hand, she was mildly pissed off at the woman. Not only had she actually shot Sears and broke her glasses, she seemed to be mocking her with a weapon that could only hold six shots. She would have felt far less annoyed if the woman had just used a bladed weapon of some sort instead of the small pistol.

Seras decided to quit her musings and focus on the task at hand. _It was wise of her to put up all these distractions. She's familiar with the area, giving her an advantage._ Seras then closed her eyes and tried to bring in the dark energies around her, if only to find the girl's location. She frowned when she felt no darkness, _So she's shielding it completely? Looks like I won't have to deal with her familiar, if it comes to that. Looks like this is going to be a good ol' fashioned gunfight._ Seras then opened her eyes and grinned. She ducked low to the ground then took off running, her body low to the ground. Her arms trailed behind her with her weapons as her footsteps barely made any noise whatsoever. She was in her element, and she relished her role; the role of a hunter.

Kylie raised an eyebrow from behind her shelter as she listened to Victoria's movements. _Is she daft? I was hoping that she would be a much more interesting prey._ Kylie raised the six shooter up into the air and slowly began to make her way towards what she thought was Victoria's destination. The crates and steel support beams provided a near maze-like quality to the room, even to Kylie's knowledge of the setup.

She finally heard Seras stop moving and Kylie mimicked the action, leaning back against one of the steel support beams, straining her hearing to see if Seras detected her in the slightest. When she sensed no movement, Kylie decided to lean out slightly to take a look around the support. She saw Seras standing there, back facing her. The woman was not moving, as if waiting for something. Kylie once again took refuge behind the support and raised the gun. _Looks like this is already over. I'm somewhat upset._

The emerald-haired vampire quickly turned around the support and began to raise the pistol. Before she could even point it at Seras, the woman already had both her pistols aimed at Kylie and fired a series of shots. The bullets flew past Kylie's head, taking a lock of her green hair. Despite the shock, she was able to fire twice back at Seras before quickly dashing away from the line of fire. She ducked behind another crate as she raised the gun again. She heard Seras' mocking voice call out, "You're a thousand years to early to sneak up on me Annie Oakley."

Seras merely grinned and slowly began walking after the woman. She yelled in a loud voice, as if not caring about this game of silent hunting, "So cowgirl, what's your story?" Playful malice dripped through her voice, teetering on the edge of threatening and mocking.

Kylie frowned at that and opened the chamber to her pistol. _Seems like she is worthy of my time after all. _She emptied the casings and unused bullet before withdrawing another stack of six bullets from her belt. She inserted the bullets and spun the chamber shut before raising her hand to an earpiece she was wearing. _A nice last minute addition, if I do say so myself._ She then spoke into the microphone, knowing that the speaker system would make it so Victoria would not be able to pinpoint her by her voice. "Little ol' me? I'm no one special dearie."

Seras laughed as she continued to walk forward, ignoring the speakers' blaring sounds from all sides. "Oh please, no secret origins? Come now, after that little circus show you performed earlier, you seem too much like a comic book or video game character to not have one."

Kylie's voice merely echoed back, "Merely another vampire serving her master." Seras frowned at that statement. _As I thought, she doesn't seem like one to lead. Her power is also untapped, usually the sign of a servant._ Seras merely released the clips to the Jackal and Cassul and reloaded them as she walked forward. Eventually she found herself with a wooden crate down far to her left. It was down a makeshift hallway of shelters and obstacles but Seras merely turned her head and stared at it. Smirking a bit, she quickly raised the Cassul in her left hand and fired three shots.

Kylie stumbled back at the sounds of the gun, surprised that Seras had come so close without her sensing it. It ended up saving her life as she watched wide-eyed the holes made in the crate. She blinked once before cursing to herself and dashing away again. _What the hell kind of gun is that? It ripped through the wood as if it was tinfoil!_ She quickly decided to take a new approach and dashed into the open, Seras watching in mild amusement. She raised her gun and fired two shots at Seras, the chamber spinning wildly as the bullets discharged.

Seras felt her arm buckle under the bullet that struck the Cassul, sending it spinning away. The other bullet nicked her wrist but not enough to really be considered a wound. She shot a quick glance towards the Cassul flying away from her as Kylie ducked behind some cover. _Frightening Accuracy..._ Seras refocused on her opponent when she dashed back out, firing another two shots at Seras as she approached her. Seras quickly dodged the bullets and returns fire on her own, closing the distance between the two. There was one fluid motion between the two, then silence.

Seras merely stared back at her opponent, an odd look of amusement on her face as she held the Jackal level with Kylie's face. Likewise, Kylie held a cold and disapproving glare at Seras, her Colt Single Action Army pistol aimed directly at the woman's head. It was a strange atmosphere for such a standoff, but the two combatants merely accepted it, not questioning why they weren't pulling their respective triggers in the slightest. The silence was long and uncomfortable before Seras finally decided to speak, "So who's this master of yours?"

Kylie only smirked, her aim not deviating for an instant. "No need to tell a dead woman."

"You're dead as well, or have you forgotten?"

Kylie couldn't help but laugh at that. "You do have a point there I suppose. Well let's say that she isn't as old as your former master, but she is one of the first."

That caused Seras to raise an eyebrow, _an ancient like Alucard? Very interesting._ "Well, even if she is, I doubt she could stand against Alucard."

Kylie agreed, spinning the revolver once very quickly. Seras; finger twitched but she didn't pull the trigger. The motion was unexpected but Kylie didn't seem to care about it. "Who knows. We did think that trash Daemon Incognito would be enough to kill him. Look's like we were wrong."

Seras narrowed her eyes at that statement. She remembered that night very clearly. It was the night that the Hellsing institution fell from power, the night she had first seen the power of her master truly unleashed. "Incognito.... worked for you?"

"Merely another pawn to us. He was supposed to kill you and Alucard but he failed, miserably I might add. You have grown stronger as well."

Seras glared at the woman, unimpressive by her words. "Who is your master?" She demanded, her finger tensing on the trigger.

Kylie merely broke out into an insane grin, "Where would be the fun in merely telling you?" She then fired the gun, the grin on her face not changing as the chamber spun. Seras reacted instantly, twisting her head to the side and raising the Jackal in front of her face. The bullet from the revolver struck the Jackal's barrel, causing Seras' hand to jerk unexpectedly but she maintained her grip. When she refocused, she saw Kylie flipping backwards high into the air, landing on top of one of the wooden crate. She fired her pistol again then hopped backwards, avoiding the return fire from the Jackal.

Seras merely cursed as she released the clip and inserted a new one. She slowly walked back over to where the Cassul lay discarded and picked it up. She looked at it then holstered it in the right shoulder holster, thinking _One gun vs one gun._ Then she began pursuing the vampire that was making herself into an annoyance quickly. _This girl thinks she can toy with me. No more fooling around, its time to end this._ Seras gave chase, firing at the vampire whenever the opportunity arose. She quickly lost track of her opponent, once again the fight drifting into the dangerous game of 'hunter hunted,' neither side sure that they were the hunter in question.

Kylie merely smiled again as she opened the chamber again and quickly reloaded her gun. She had not fired a single shot since running from Seras and was finding the challenge of this game to be intoxicating. _I have not felt this excited since Lorenz and I fought with those Iscariots back in America. I really must thank her for this._ Her thoughts were of both reverence, respect, and amusement. She quickly decided that it was her turn again and began sneaking through the surroundings, taking care to mask her presence. While Kylie had set up the barrier to prevent Victoria from using any of her more potent magics, the seal also prevented Kylie in a similar manner. She had wanted a gunfight with the one praised as the enemy's trump card, not a mere battle of powers.

She eventually found Seras again, seeing her take a turn down one of the corridors of crates and slowly and silently followed her. She leaned against the crate backing again and listened for the woman's steps. They were getting progressively softer, indicating her movements away. Kylie merely grinned as she stepped out and went to fire her gun. Her shot was met with one of Seras' own as the Jackal discharged once, sending the bullet behind Victoria in Kylie's direction. Kylie dodged to the side again to avoid the bullet but couldn't help but praise her enemy mentally. _She's quite good. She didn't even look behind her when she fired._ She then heard Seras' loud voice speaking again, "Enough of this cat and mouse cowgirl!"

_Too true, _Kylie thought, her amusement fading slightly. _Aw hell with it._ She quickly jumped upwards on top of the crate and began to jump from crate to crate towards her opponent. The unexpected move caught Seras off-guard as the vampire fired three shots at her opponent from the side before jumping towards Victoria with another two shots. The first three went wide, causing Seras to truly wonder if the girl's earlier shots had been mere flukes, but the last two hit their target. Seras buckled slightly as one of the bullets entered her right thiegh and the other hit her left shoulder. She grit her teeth as the green haired beauty landed right in front of her in a crouch before raising her gun again to fire.

Seras once again reacted without thinking. Her left hand shot out, a blur in the eyes of even her opponent. A thin smile covered her face at the action while her opponent merely gasped in absolute shock. Kylie's revolver was once again pointed at Seras' head, but this time, the left hand of the brown haired executioner of the Hellsing institution was holding the spinning chamber of the pistol in place. Seras couldn't help but think, _heh, it actually worked. Looks like that book was right._ "The chamber needs to be able to spin for the bullet to fire. A safety is built into most revolver guns in order to keep the gun from misfiring." She then lost the amused tone of voice before speaking again, "Now who is your master?" The voice was cold and demanding.

Kylie merely shook her head in wonderment. "Rot in hell traitor."

Seras then quickly raised her own gun and fired once into Kylie's left leg. The woman screamed out in pain, but didn't realize her hold on her weapon. Seras moved the gun to the right leg but still held the pistol firmly. "I won't ask again. You can either tell me, or I can find out from your blood."

Kylie frowned at that. Taking blood between vampires was a form of absolute defeat and insult. When one vampire drained the blood from another, the vampire's powers would increase, but that wasn't the part that was amazing. The truly amazing part was the fact that the vampire would receive the memories of the one drained through their blood, something that even her master had not been able to explain to her. "No point in telling you; you wouldn't recognize her name." She said coldly.

Seras fired her weapon again. "I think you understand what will keep happening every time you don't answer to my liking." Kylie frowned again, trying to think of a way out of her predicament but Seras spoke again, "Don't even try it. I could kill you at any moment right now."

There was a long silence before her fallen opponent answered. "I serve the Mistress Lysandra."

Seras frowned at that name. _I recognize that name but from where._ She decided to voice her thoughts, "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Your master may have mentioned her to you. You could say that she was his second wife."

Seras smirked a bit at that. The terms 'wife' and 'husband' to vampires was not used in the same way as human society. It meant someone who was turned by a vampire then granted freedom above a subservient being. Case in point, Seras was Alucard's most recent 'wife.' "So that explains why she is so old then. No doubt if she comes from Alucard then she has great power." _Perhaps surpassing my own..._

"So what went on at this factory, besides the obvious." Seras pressed.

Kylie merely shook her head, "That's two answers for two wounds." Her fist then quickly shot out and struck Seras in the face, loosing the woman's grasp on the pistol. She followed up her attack by grabbing Victoria's left shoulder holster and tossing her sideways throw one of the crates before dashing away. Seras flew to the side in the air, impacted against one of the giant shipping crates, breaking it to pieces before hitting the ground.

Seras shook her head as she stood back up. _Careless..._ She heard a chamber spinning and quickly ran to the side, several bullets flying past where she was to embed themselves into the crate. Seras released the catch on the clip and reloaded before turning back to the fight.

The game of cat and mouse returned, neither side really sure who was the cat anymore. Seras did notice that her opponent's concentration seemed to have jumped after being held up in the way that she had been. _So she's insulted, too bad._ Seras sensed her enemy coming towards her and leaned back against one of the supports in the room. She dove across the opening to the other side. While she was diving, she saw Kylie down at the other end firing her gun at Seras. Seras merely returned fire until she caught herself in a diving roll before springing back to her feet and quickly moving through the shelters towards her enemy.

Kylie scoffed as she tracked Seras' movement and had her gun follow in turn. When she lined up the shot with where Seras was going to be next, she fire twice. The bullet's streaked through the hallway towards their destination. Only to Kylie's shock, Seras was not attacking the way she had expected. No, Seras was sliding across the ground through the opening from one side to the other, aiming a more direct shot at her opponent. One shot fired out and hit Kylie in the abdomen. She cursed under her breath as she grabbed her side with her left hand and dashed away, trying to find some more secure cover.

Seras merely began to laugh like a complete madwoman as she slowly began to walk in pursuit of her prey. She bobbed and weaved through the complex maze of broken crates and old supports, idly wondering if the game could get even more entertaining. She finally stopped moving again and crouched at the end of one opening. She closed her eyes and held the Jackal up in front. After a few more seconds, her right arm spun down and pointed backwards against her opponent's chest. The bottom of the gun facing up, the gun totally inverted. Seras still hadn't opened her eyes but she did ask in a slightly bored tone, "What did I say about trying to sneak up on me." The Jackal discharged twice, the bullet's catching the female vampire in the chest before she was able to stumble away. Seras stood up and brought her back before turning around, her eyes lingering on the traces of blood that were sprinkled on the gun from that last attack. She released the gun's clip and reloaded, but idly stared at the blood, as if wondering about how it would taste or something.

_Enough of that. Just kill this girl._ Seras lowered her body and took off again in a dash, the soft sounds of her footsteps echoing in the large room. Meanwhile Kylie was cursing to herself venomously. _Can you take this woman? Perhaps it is time to forego ego, victory in this case is far more important. _She decided to ask a question, "How did you know I was there?"

Seras didn't stop running as she yelled out, "It's because of your technique. It's not nearly polished enough. You can't just vanish in the environment, you must completely blend in with it. You vanish, therefore providing a strange void in the feeling. I blend, hence why I'm able to sneak up on my prey." _I should try sneaking up on her. Perhaps that would work better._

_Damn woman. My healing is slowly down, is she wearing me out?_ Kylie spun the gun twice in her hand before moving again, trying to gain some distance between her opponent and herself. _Looks like I have to undo the binding, if only to heal myself._

"You're doing much better than I expected." Kylie's voice rang through the intercom system, slightly startling Seras as she skidded to a stop behind some shelter.

"Thank you." Seras replied back mockingly, not caring if she was giving away her position. "I should say the same of you."

"Perhaps its time we upped the ante to this little game?" It was then Seras felt a temporary release on the barrier that had been set up. She raised an eyebrow in response confused by the action, _Is she dumb, or merely overconfident?_ Seras could now easily sense where her opponent was, as if she possessed a radar built directly into her head. She then slowly began walking towards where she knew her opponent was waiting.

Seras turned the corner and raised her gun to fire but was surprised when she found nothing. She quickly realized her mistake and dove to the side, avoiding a series of shots from her hidden opponent. Seras cursed as she ducked behind a support, hearing the pings of the bullets striking the steel frame. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. I fell for it. She's smarter than she lets on._

Kylie smiled as she rotated the chamber and reloaded. She had lifted the barrier for a reason, and that reason was for playing head games with her skilled opponent. When the barrier was released, she knew that Seras would sense her. So in turn, she shifted her dark energies to a specific point and then took up an ambush position. The tactic had worked like a charm, despite her inability to actually hit Seras.

She spun the gun once again before dashing towards Seras' location, a playful grin full of malice on her face. She saw Seras leaning against the steel frame and fired all six shots again, this time actually impacted against her shooting arm. She watched Seras toss the gun to her other hand and return fire as she dashed in between crates for cover. Kylie followed her in hot pursuit, reloading her gun in full dash and hoping that she would keep up this momentum.

She thought she heard Seras hit something and ran towards the sound. She turned the corner to fire but all she found was a discarded ammo clip. She frowned when she realized what was going on, but was far too slow to react. Seras came up behind her and grabbed her neck from behind with both hands. She then looked to the side, towards where she knew the room's exit was behind a pair of crates and threw the vampire as if she was a rag doll. Kylie flew through the air and slammed into the crates, her body's momentum causing her to break through and bounce out of the room. She slowly rose to her hands and knees and coughed out some blood. _That... hurt._

She then sensed Seras near her and raised her gun to fire. Seras' hand flew out as she fired and direction the shot away from her while she aimed at her opponent's head. _One. _Kylie swore under her breath and decided to do the same thing, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the Jackal and directing its aim upwards, narrowly misdirecting a shot that grazed her ear.

Seras grinned at the turn of events and once again tried to grab Kylie's neck. Kylie would have none of that so as Seras raised her arm to try, Kylie's gun also went up, trying to center the aim on the woman's head. Seras shifted in response, tossing her gun into the air as she grabbed the woman's wrist with her right hand, spun and caught the Jackal with her left, now trying to aim it at Kylie's head. In response, Kylie's body ducked down slightly and she grabbed Seras' outstretched left arm with her own left arm. Having both arms unable to move, she quickly sent a roundhouse kick into Seras' chest, knocking sideways.

Seras slid across the floor from the blow, leaving trails of dust as she slowed to a stop. She only laughed at the excitement of what she knew would be the end of the fight and dashed forward, once again bringing the Jackal to fire. Kylie did likewise, bringing her own pistol up to fire. The two both dashed towards each other until they were within arms reach. Only then did the two fire their guns, both avoiding the oncoming bullet on reflex. Two. The unarmed hands shot out again to grab the gun arms and immobilize them.

The two repeated this pattern, both trying to shoot the other while using their free hand in order to divert their opponent's aim. Kylie was the one who was disadvantageous in this situation however and she knew it. Seras however had no intention of allowing the girl enough time to reload. It was when Kylie heard an unexpected click before the Jackal fired again that she found herself cursing herself for playing this game for far too long. It was simple math after all, fifteen round clip vs six shots.

She dropped the six shooter and used her other free hand to grab Seras' right hand with the Jackal, perhaps in an attempt to dislodge the gun in order to put the two on equal footing yet again. What she didn't expect was that she had fallen directly into the trap laid by the Hellsing operative. Seras let loose a feral grin and sent her right foot upwards, impacting against the bottom of the woman's jaw, sending her flying upwards in a backflip.

Kylie's mind was reeling from the impact, trying to gather her senses as she felt herself flying through the air. She was able to gather herself in order to land in a crouch. She raised her eyes, preparing to close the distance again in order to force her opponent in to hand to hand combat but found herself staring a void in front of her. It was when she felt cold steel being pressed into the back of her head that she thought, _So this is how I will die..._

"It's over cowgirl." Seras said with a grin. She pushed the gun into her opponent's head a little harder before adding, "Time to put you out to pasture, darlin'." She said, mimicking Xavier's 'southern' voice.

It was then that a blinding pain hit her. She screamed out in anguish as she stumbled backwards, grabbing her forehead in absolute agony. _What the hell? What is this pain?_ She then felt her body twisting backwards from the pain, her back arching upwards as both of her hands flew to her head, as if trying to keep her head from exploding. Her vision was fading fast, leaving only trails of light and shadows.

She felt someone approaching from the side... someone very powerful... approaching very quickly... She turned in an attempt to look but screamed out again as the pain increased tenfold as something hit her in the chest. She flew backwards from whatever it was and felt the Jackal fly from her grasp. The Cassul also broke from it's holster and followed the Jackal, leaving Seras on the ground defenseless.

Not that it mattered anymore because Seras' world had been reduced to light, shadows, and pain. Pain that seemed to tear her body apart, even though she had barely been hit throughout the night. It was only then that her world went dark. _So... weak...._

This was the last thought she had before her mind drifted into a new world... a world of the past... a world of the present... the world within herself...


	15. Chapter 14

Nitro.exe: Well yeah, I did kinda rip off the scene from MGS. It fit though and I don't care if people call me unoriginal, it had the effect I wanted. As for the fight like the Matrix, I was actually pcituring something more along the lines of Equilibrium. If you liked the kung-fu and the gun fights from the matrix, you'd probably love it.

bardiel132004: You know, instead of just saying the story sucks, give me a reason to improve it. Though I must thank you, as this was probably first neagtive review.

This is another hint of things to come. In the end, I really want to do more with this chapter one day when I go through this story and do fixes in general.

**Chapter Fourteen: Adrift Within a Sea of Reflection**

"I really don't know. I only listen to the whispers from my ghost..."

Blackness everywhere, endless darkness without form, nor end. The mere sight should cause fear, if not only to the unsettling sight, but to the unknown. It has always been known that it is the unknown that is the most frightening. Within the darkness, an image begins to form, drawing in the consciousness of the one who was floating within this sea of void.

A scene of a young girl with blond hair holding on to the arm of her father. The man was wearing the uniform of a London police officer, smiling down at the little girl in genuine happiness. The two were walking along the road, holding hands the little girl talking excitedly as her father guided them towards their home.

The watcher observed this silently, trying to think to when this scene was from. The little girl looked familiar, as did the older policeman. The watcher continued to observe the two on their trip, thoughts surfacing to the watcher's mind. The scene began to gain more detail as the two continued forward. A city street, low lighting, familiar sights, larger crowd. _I know that palce.... London central?_ The watcher thought idly as the two turned a corner.

The watcher merely followed before stopping when realization hit. The watcher took off into a full run in pursuit as the two people began to turn down another corner. _No, don't go!_ The watcher felt the feeling of her intense running, but despite the speed that she was running at, she could only get slightly closer to them, as if she was only walking after them.

She rounded the corner to see the man's body flying backwards, as if in slow motion. Blood from the man's would splattered outwards, hitting the face of his six year old daughter who was watching in a shocked silence. The gunman looked terrified as he watched the body hit the ground, the gun in his hand shaking wildly as if he was a heroin addict. He was wearing scraps of clothing, torn in many places and reeking of the smell of urine. He took once last look at the dead body then took off, dropping the gun terrified of what he had actually done.

The watcher merely cursed under her breath as she watched the little girl approach the dying policeman. _I don't want to see this... Not again. Please no..._ The little girl, blood still on her face merely looked down at her father with her blue eyes full of worry and sadness. "Daddy?" She nudged him a little more, as if trying to wake him from a deep slumber.

The man's eyes openly weakly as he tried to face his daughter. He tried to speak up but ended up coughing up blood, spilling up from his mouth and running down to his neck. "Seras.... I... lo...ve.... you." The man's body then slumped, his eyes not closing but the life in them fading away to nothing.

The girl was desperately trying to fight the tears that were dripping down her face. She shook him harder, "Daddy, thats not funny." Shaking him again she screamed, "Daddy!" She then burst out crying, the tears falling from her eyes and down her face until they fell and hit the dead man's. The girl let out one final scream, "DADDY!" She then broke into silent tears over the man's body, oblivious to the watcher still observing the scene.

That's the point where the watcher felt something wet on her face. She slowly reached up and touched her face near her eyes where damp trails of crimson blood flowed freely. It was at this point where Seras Victoria, master executioner of the Hellsing Instituion, realized that she was crying, and then let out a blood curdling scream before the image vanished once again into the darkness.

-

William Hellsing sat at his desk, one hand holding onto a packet of papers, the other grabbing his head as if he was suffering a massive migraine. "So how the specialists figured out what's wrong with her?"

Christopher merely shook his head no. "We currently have her restrained in her room like we did after her last battle. But unlike before there are no hallucinations, no movement, etcetera. It's as if she was in a coma."

Lord Hellsing placed the papers on the desk and turned back to his old friend. "What of the stone that she was hit by according to Agent Flynn and Lt. Griphten? It seems to be the source of the situation."

The older man sighed. "Indeed, it would seem that way. We've never encountered anything like this before."

The leader of Hellsing spun in his chair, staring out the window. There was a long period of silence before Lord Hellsing spoke again, "Is it possible to... remove it? She's already been like this for two weeks."

Christopher shrugged, trying to think of a way to put it. "The specialists say its possible, but I don't think any of them have the fortitude to go through with it. They are terrified of her waking up during the operation."

Lord Hellsing cursed softly, "We can't lose her now. Now if the personal logs of Dr. Silveston are accurate. Too much is at risk now."

Christopher raised an eyebrow. "So the code has been broken?"

"Yes, intelligence finally pulled it off earlier this morning. There was some heavy protection on that hard drive, we actually had to request a hacker team from the intelligence branch of the British SAS to pull it off."

"What did we find?" Christopher asked, interested to see if they had found the key to destroying the freak chips that had plagued England for so long.

Lord Hellsing turned back around in his chair. "Unfinished schematics for what the creator dubbed, 'the ultimate human.' It was the newest model of the chip, supposedly finished. I've given the designs to some of our people to figure out. He also kept personal logs of the development as well as what his caretakers were going to do once the chips were complete." He took a sip of tea from the cup on his desk before adding, "We also have our Judas marked."

This caused the old butler to smile in a way most have never seen. "Shall we make preparations to remove him?"

"No, I have better ideas for that. Though I will need to request a round table meeting sometime in the near future. It would be nice if Victoria was awakened by then."

"I'll talk to Agent Flynn. He will convince the specialists to operate... with his unique methods." Christopher said, adding the last part in with a smirk.

Lord Hellsing nodded before turning back to the window. "Make it so."

-

Seras found herself wandering through the darkness, no real destination in sight. Nor in her mind, as Seras had no idea of where her body was taking her. It was as if it had its own will, walking on an invisible surface towards wherever Seras was going.

It wasn't long before the body stopped and Seras' head was turned to her right. She watched as the darkness began to ripple again, much like it had done earlier. Seras found herself watching another morbid scene; another scene from Seras' past.

This time it was a cemetery. Seras watched as the forms of people began to appear within the dark ripple. She found herself walking towards the ripple, entering through the formless rift. Seras' view was clearer now as she slowly regained control over her body. She slowly walked through the groves of people towards the center, ignoring the fact that none of the people in black noticed her. She did however, hear what they were saying in low voices.

"I can't believe it. He was such a nice man, he used to always take care of us."

"Heard he was taken out by some homeless drug addict, what a way to go..."

"Didn't he have a daughter? She must be what, only five years old?"

"He's getting a two rank promotion posthumously. I'm sure he wouldn't have cared either way, such things always meant nothing to him."

"Poor girl. Does she have any other family?"

"No, poor thing is getting shipped off to an orphanage."

Seras finally reached the center and stopped, watching the proceedings. At the front was a large brown casket, surrounded those dressed in black. There was a preacher there, speaking about the sanctity of life, the sacredness of it and how it, like all things, were god's will. Seras found herself growing angry but was unable to do anything as the preacher made the sign of the cross before gesturing towards the casket.

One by one the mourners laid down a flower on the casket. Some walked away with tears in their eyes, some walking away with some consoling words to a young blond-haired girl that stood there watching the proceedings in silence, her face knit into an expression that could be described as fear and grief.

The scene flashed once, revealing the young girl in front of a tombstone. She was standing there in the rain with the same expression on her face. She held no umbrella, nor did it seem like the rain bothered her in the slightest. Seras watched her younger self stare at the grave stone for a long time, the rain not giving any sympathy to the young girl. _God's blessings are no longer among us._ Seras then clutched her head, _I don't want to see this anymore, somebody please make it stop!_

_"I hope you don't think we're done yet Seras." _Seras looked up when she heard the voice in her head. The scene from before was now gone but she was once again floating within the black darkness. Seras looked around wildly, desperately trying to find the voice that had just spoken in this domain of horrible memories. _"These are far from being your 'horrible' memories. These are merely the ones that you yourself blocked off in order to distance yourself from such pain._

"Who are you?" Seras yelled into the abyss.

There was an echoing laugh that rang through her mind as the voice seemed to find her confrontation spirit amusing. _"Who I am is not important, nor is what I am. The important question is who are you, Seras Victoria?"_

"Enough with the introspective bullshit! Show yourself coward!" Seras demanded loudly. She could feel the hair on the back on her neck standing up though. Despite all the false bravado she was putting forth, Seras felt fear grabbing hold of her. Something that she had no felt for quite some time.

The voice seemed to find her challenge interesting, its loud laughter ringing through Seras' mind. _"As you wish. I will show that which you do not see."_ Seras' head once again turned without her wish and towards where a new ripple was forming in the darkness. It only took a few moments before Seras watched as a figure stepped through the rift.

She was wearing a somewhat revealing black outfit, something that if Seras had still been human, would have caused her to blush at the openness of it. The woman walked forward, her body swaying slightly as she stared at Seras with an amused grin, her red eyes narrowing as if angry. Her black hair fell down to her shoulders, unrestrained and free. She walked until she was right in front of Seras then stopped, bringing up her right hand as if to brush her hair away. Seras merely frown at this whole appearance though, her mind vainly trying to tell her that it wasn't real, that none of this was. Seras finally finally admit to herself what she was seeing and asked, "So, you're my dark side?" She asked, her tone betraying a mixture of disbelief, annoyance, and anger.

The woman who looked very similar to Seras merely covered her mouth and laughed. The woman then stared at Seras, her words echoing in Seras' mind. _"Something like that. You could say I'm the part of you that you have been trying to suppress since Alucard gave you life again. We've spoken before, just before we were on your terms. Now you are on mine."_

"You're my bloodlust then, fair enough. Where are we?" Seras asked, her stern visage not faltering in the slightest.

The Seras clone merely laughed again before gesturing to the dark abyss that surrounded the two of them. _"Oh that? That's all that dark power that you have been sealing behind those little gloves of ours. Amazing isn't it?"_

Seras started to ask another question before her clone cut her off, _"But no more questions. We are here for a reason, and no its not to meet ourself. There is much more for you to see, in retribution for all that you have done to me." _Seras gasped as the clone vanished into the darkness again, before the rift changed form again, leaving Seras stuttering as she feel to a stone floor. She found herself able to move her own body once again and slowly rose to a kneeling position.

Only to find herself staring down the barrel of a familiar weapon. The weapon bucked once as the bullet from the Jackal impacted against her shoulder, sending searing pain through her body, crying out in pain unlike she had since the encounter with Peregrin. She instinctivly grabbed the hole in her shoulder with her other arm and turned to glare and kill the fool who had shot her. Her face fell though when she realized who it was that had just shot her. She stared at the man as if he was a passing dream. "....Master?"

-

The specialists were gathering around the fallen vampire as if they were ants around a piece of rotting fruit. Xavier merely watched from the corner as the group continued to wash their hands, clean the instruments, and other standard procedures for operations. _Not like any of that stuff will do anything to her anyways. I've never heard of a bloodsucker getting an infection._

Just before the group turned to their future patient, Victoria's body shot up with an eardrum shattering scream. Xavier shot to his feet in case he had to defend the specialists but could only watched in stunned silence as the woman grabbed her head with both her hands and continuing screaming as if her lungs were the size of a small child. She stood up from the bed and walked over to the stone wall before slamming her head into it with enough force to cause an impact in the wall. Xavier immediately dashed to try and restrain her, "Victoria! Calm down! Stop it Victoria!" He yelled, vainly trying to pull her away from the wall. He turned towards the specialists and yelled, "Get some tranquilizer ready. A shit load of it!"

One of the men quickly dashed up holding a syringe. Xavier snatched it from his hand and jabbed the needle into Victoria's neck. She sent a backhand that impacted against the side of his head, knocking him across the room into the stone wall on the other side. The tranquilizer had done its job though as she slumped to the ground after that in a deep sleep. Xavier pulled himself to his feet, his head pounding as he tried to steady himself with the help of one of the men in the room. Xavier merely said, "Keep her pumped full of that stuff until you finish with her." He watched as the room began to swim wildly in his vision and added an amused voice, "And someone call a doctor for me. Rooms shouldn't spin like this." He then collapsed to the ground, allowing himself a single thought before drifting into unconsciousness. _Damn, she has a good backhand._

-

Seras tried to duck out of the way but found herself unable to avoid the bullet as it struck her in her other shoulder, causing both of her arms to go limp. She grit her teeth to keep from screaming out but only looked back to one of the few she respected in her undead life. "Master, what are you doing?" She yelled emphatically, as if trying to penetrate the ice cold stare he was giving her.

He merely raised the gun again and fired. Seras was able to dodge this shot but still found herself staring at her master as if he were help her. He finally began to laugh a deep and throaty laugh. He then turned backed to her, his red eyes glaring from behind those yellow sunglasses, "Policegirl, why are you not attacking? This is your weakness!" He said, removing the Cassul from wherever it was he kept it and fired both guns at her.

Seras quickly jumped to the side to avoid the expert marksmanship of the elder vampire. She found dashing away from her former master, desperately trying to stay alive in this hellhole she was in. _This isn't real! Alucard would never try to kill me!_ Her mind's thoughts came unbidden, overriding the sense of danger that surrounded her.

It was then that the gunfire stopped and Seras heard her own voice whisper back to her. _"Don't tell me you really think that? Perhaps you need to think back to a time where you were still a fledgling."_ The scene changed to another stone dungeon. This time however Alucard was standing over a fallen Seras. She watched in confusion as her younger counterpart was shot in both shoulders from point blank range, causing her to scream out in pain.

The younger Seras screamed back at Alucard, her blond hair almost covering her eyes. "Why are you doing this Master?"

He merely grinned back at her sadistically, "That which does not kill you, makes you stronger policegirl." He then shot her three times in the abdomen, causing her to scream out in pain again. Seras merely watched this scene from afar, remembering back to when it had taken place.

The Alucard in the vision then turned to her, "Yes Seras, this is from when you were being trained. I must say I did have plenty of fun doing it, although I'm sure you only remember the pain." His voice rang out in a deep boom within the small room.

The Seras on the ground turned to her and added, her voice coming out weak and strained, "You brought this upon yourself. If you only learned to become a true vampire, none of this would've happened. You would not have had to gone through Alucard's training of hell"

Seras grabbed her mouth as she felt vomit rising up the back of her throat. Out of nowhere, Seras' clone appeared with a small chalice. She handed it to Seras and only said one word, _"Drink."_ Seras didn't hesitate in the slightest for some reason as she lifted the cup to her mouth and began to guzzle the sweet liquid that lay within. It was almost intoxicating at how good it felt to drink that liquid. Seras eventually pulled the cup away from her mouth and looked into it to see what it was. Her eyes shot open and she threw the cup to ground as she saw the blood resting in the bottom the chalice.

Her clone began to laugh at the reaction and then began to choke her from behind. _"Oh come now. You still react that way after all this time? You should know the taste of blood by now, hence why your hesitation with taking life pisses me off so much!" _Seras began to choke slightly as her clone began to apply pressure to her throat. She then whispered into Seras' ear in a sweet and soft voice that leaked of malice. _"Perhaps we should show you more..."_

There was a flash of light and Seras found herself watching as the Paladin Alexandre Anderson attacked her. She grunted in pain as she felt the holy blade enter her side, the man's smile bordering on insanity at her situation. She kicked him away on reflex and knocked him about ten feet away. He landed in a crouch and darted towards her again, removing another blade to compensate for the one that still resided in her. She pulled out his blade and parried his strikes, avoiding the fatal slashes only by a hair's length.

She remembered where she was now, this was where she killed Alexandre Anderson. It was a small rural farmhouse that Alucard and Victoria had chased the man to, although it would seem that it was the other way. She grunted as she felt the burning sensation coming from her side. The wound still was fresh and the holy blades kept her from regenerating. She saw Alucard watching her from the side, his face neutral as if judging her. She screamed for him to help her but he merely glared back at her, his face seeming more cold to her then than she had ever seen it. He only said one thing, "Show me that you aren't trash."

There was another flash and she saw herself draining the priest, his eyes closing slowly as the life left him. The taste of the blood invigorated her, giving her more strength as she began to feed on him more actively. She closed her eyes in silent bliss as she sucked him dry, hearing the praising voice of her master in the background. "Good work, Seras Victoria."

Victoria then snapped backwards away from the Paladin's body as if struck by lightning. _No, I didn't enjoy the blood that much, not even his._ She heard her clone's mocking laughter in her head, to the point where it caused her pain. She fell to her knees, grasping her head in pain from the intensity of the laughter.

_"Stop with the victim act. You should be embracing what you are!"_ The voice called back to her from within the darkness as the scene flashed again to various points, including all those near death battles of her. Her mind reeled as the images bombarded her senses. _"All those battles, all that blood wasted. Alucard would despise what you've become. You are no better than you were when you were a fledgling!" _

"Shut up." Seras weak voice rang out through the images of death and destruction. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" She asked pathetically as she slowly began to curl up into a fetal position.

The voice merely laughed at her, _"Leave you alone? I wish I could! I am you, or have you forgotten that? I am what you are supposed to be, not that weak creature you call 'myself'!" _

Seras no longer listened to the voice, only watched the scenes of death and destruction as they flashed before her eyes. Deaths she had caused, deaths she had tried to stop, endless destruction she herself had dealt. The voice continued to laugh in the background as Seras felt the place beginning to eat at her, a few tears of blood dripping down from her eyes.

The voice in her head made a startled cry as if she had been hit but Seras didn't even notice, so deep into the visions and sounds of death. The voice cried out as if insulted, _"You! You have no right to interfere. This is her trial!" _It cried out, as if yelling at a child.

A deep voice merely responded, "She has passed this trial long ago. I made sure of it. What you're doing right now is no trial, this is an attempt to destroy her mind and I will have none of it. I do not take attacks on my kin lightly."

_"So the great one does have emotion after all. You still have feelings for this weak and pathetic creature that has tried to forget what she is for the last one hundred and thirty years!"_

"Be gone, you vile pretender. She has already dealt with her bloodlust, dealt with herself. You are an outsider pretending to be a friend, now begone!" The deep voice bellowed, silencing the voice inside Seras' head. She heard from her clone no longer after that statement, as if whoever it was had killed it with only that statement. Seras merely curled tighter into a ball and closed her eyes as the tears flowed freely.

The man slowly walked towards the fallen woman, his footsteps echoing loudly, even over the sights of the destruction that still flew past Seras' eyes. He stopped right in front of her fallen body and stared down at her, as if unsure what to do. He removed his yellow sunglasses and lowered his gloved hands. He shook his head as he bent down and ran his fingers through the woman's brown hair gently. "What did they do to you Seras?" He wondered idly aloud as he removed his blood red coat. He slowly wrapped his former student in his coat and carried her upwards in his arms, the coat covering her body.

Seras felt herself being lifted and even though she was terrified to do so, she opened her eyes. She gasped in shock when she saw who it was that was carrying her and immediately tried to break from his grip. He said only two words, his voice neither gentle nor harsh. "Stop it." The woman's eyes widened at the tone used and ceased her struggling. Seeing that she was in fact awake, unlike what he had previously thought, he slowly lowered her back to the ground. He placed her on the ground and merely stood back up, looking down on her. "Are you alright Seras Victoria?" His voice was deep and held nothing, but Seras could have sworn she caught a bit of concern in the question.

It was then that Seras began to laugh softly. The laughter slowly grew in volume until she was laughing at the top of her lungs. But this was far from being a normal laugh, as it seemed to come from someone insane. She was no longer even looking at her would-be savior and instead was staring into the darkness, into the images of death and destruction that were still fast-forming in the rifts.

The elder vampire merely shook his head as he brought his hand back. _What have they done to you?_ The smack was loud and interrupted the scenes that were forming in the rifts in the darkness. Seras' head was tilted sideways from the blow, the side of her left cheek red from the impact. She slowly brought her hand to the mark without looking at the one who had struck her. Finally, after a very long silence the man asked, "Are you sane now?"

She looked up at him as if he materialized out of nowhere. Her eyes were wide as she slowly rose to her feet, wiping away the blood tear stains that covered in trails from her eyes down to her chin. She slowly walked towards him and raised one of her hands up to his face. He didn't resist in the slightest from this action, for he knew in this realm he was safe, no matter what her intentions were. She ran her hand over his jawline down to his neck and only stared in disbelief. Finally she spoke, her voice coming out very weak and scared. "Master... Alucard... is it... really you this time?"

He slowly reached and grabbed her hand in his. The white glove bearing the sigul that force him to obey the Hellsing family covered her own seal, each symbol glowing yellow once, as if in resonance. "It is I, Seras Victoria."

She then felt tears coming down again her face and. She slowly fell to her knees again, covering her face in his gloved hands. Alucard merely watched this with a neutral expression. She cried for quite some time, Alucard never felt any reason to stop her as she continued to flood the ground beneath her with her tears. She then sniffed once and said weakly, "I never wanted you to see me like this."

He merely replaced his yellow glasses on his eyes as he said, "It's not your fault. You were merely outmaneuvered. There was nothing you could do." He then gestured towards the darkness. "There were lies within truths within this darkness."

Seras finally looked up at him, "What do you mean?"

He merely grabbed his coat from her and replaced it on himself before answering, "That is something you must find out for yourself, much like however every vampire must discover their own demons. Perhaps this is merely another one of your demons." He then turned away from her and began to walk away, "Stand up and walk forward Seras Victoria! You are of my kin, you are not this weak, I made sure of that! Stand up and go forth, and none will be able to stop you." He then continued walking away until he entered another rift and disappeared into the darkness.

Seras merely watched him vanish and then broke into bitter tears again, without really knowing why. She didn't even notice when her eyes closed and she fell unconscious again.

-

Xavier watched from his bedside vigil as Seras began to stir in her sleep. He looked over as she slowly opened her eyes. He was somewhat relieved when he saw that her pupils had restored themselves. She slowly turned her head away, saying weakly "ah." Sensing the source of her disturbance, Xavier turned down the intensity of the light that was over her bed. She slowly breathed out weakly, "Thank you."

This caused Xavier to raise an eyebrow, "Since when did you thank anyone Draculina?"

Seras tried to laugh but she was far too weak so it came out more of a soft choking sound. "Please Xavier, not now. Please don't make me laugh, it hurts too much." She tilted her head to notice the large bandage that was covering the side of his head. "What happened to you?" She asked, her voice barely audible.

Xavier blinked once before lying about where he had received the room. "I fell down a set of stairs in this dilapidated place. Landed on my head, got a small concussion." He then looked her over before asking, "Are you... alright now?"

"No." She said simply, her voice still very weak. Xavier could've sworn he saw something before she requested, "Xavier, please can you leave me." Seeing the desperate plea in her eyes, he nodded and left the room, wondering to himself, _Is she crying?_ It was only then that the tears truly began to flow as Seras began to silently cry. The tears flowed freely down her face as she cried as if she had not cried since she was a little girl.

Seras didn't know it but someone was watching her cry. His eyes merely watched her in silence, despite an urge to go to her. He knew he could do nothing of the sort so only allowed himself one thought before removing his consciousness from the room.

_Soon my pupil. Soon, so stay strong._

-----

There! That was for all you people complaining about no Alucard. Keep in mind, this was only a teaser of things to come with him. But he won't be showing up fully for a few more chapters or so.


	16. Chapter 15

I figured that after posting two chapters of Dark Futures in two days due to lack of crap for me to do at my summer job, I figured why not write another chapter of this fic. No real big plot development here, just something to amuse myself at work.

**Chapter Fifteen: Consequences**

"You shouldn't let your mouth make bets that your body can't cash."

Seras stood before Lord Hellsing in his office, feeling like shit and not all too afraid to say it either. She was not wearing her usual uniform, but rather a large black sweater and a pair of dark brown khakis. Fashion had never really been her forte but she didn't really care. "What is it?" She asked, irritably, still feeling sick from whatever the second pure blood had done to her.

Xavier had explained what had happened to her, and went into great detail describing the second pureblood, the last scene he saw before she collapsed, and what became of her afterwards. She did not let him in on her horrific visions that she experienced, nor did she have any plans to let anyone know about them. _Merely my sanity taking another turn for the worse. That's all._

Lord Hellsing merely turned in his chair slightly. "I want your report… and to see if you were okay." He said as he began typing on the keyboard in front of him. His eyes were locked to the monitor as if being pulled by magnets.

Victoria sighed. "I'm sure Agent Flynn has already given you the basic idea."

Hellsing looked at her and frowned. "Yes, he did. I want to know what you know."

"You're a pain in the ass." She irritably as she walked over to the side of the room and pulled a wooden chair over to his desk. She sat down and grabbed her head gently, still suffering from a small phantom headache. "We entered the facility before the main crew arrived. We ended up capturing one of the scientists before I sensed the first pureblood. I left Flynn to deal with escaping and I went to fight her."

"Why? The scientist would've been more important to keep for information purposes." The man stated evenly, watching her movements with interest. It was plain to see that she did not feel well. If she wasn't already pale and lifeless in appearance, he was sure that she would be if she had still been human.

She shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, I'm sure she sensed me as well. It would've been unavoidable. Best to do it away from our captive in order to try and make sure we can interrogate him later." She yawned once, covering her mouth with her hand before continuing to speak. "After a small conversation, we fought in one of the most… interesting battles I've fought in a long time."

"Conversation about what?"

Seras frowned at that. "I wanted to ask you about that as well. It seemed she knew quite a bit about me, more that one could gather just by observing me from a distance."

The man turned in his chair and folded his arms across the desk, resting his chin on his hands. "Yes, a month or so ago, we were the victim of a flawless computer hacking. The only thing taken however was the basic file we had on you. There was nothing really groundbreaking in it, so after we set up countermeasures to prevent it from happening again, we didn't worry about it anymore."

Seras raised an eyebrow. _Well that explains a lot._ "I also know the name of our enemy."

Lord Hellsing nodded. "Yes, the vampire Lysandra, also known as the Queen of Darkness." He reached into one of his desk drawers and withdrew a small file, stamped with red lettering that read 'confidential.' He handed the file to Victoria, who took it with some interest. "Flynn was able to retrieve some vital data from the factory before it was overrun by freaks."

Seras undid the string on the file in silence and opened it. She quickly began flipping through the lengthy file, her eyes knit in concentration. "Is this all from that data?" She asked, surprised at the amount of information in the folder.

The man shook his head. "No, the Hellsing institution had a file on her long before this came up. We just could never find where she was hiding so she was forgotten as more immediate threats continued to escalate."

"Master's second wife…" Seras mumbled softly to herself, remembering the words from her emerald haired opponent. She then looked up and asked, "I don't remember what happened after the fight with the first pureblood. Just sudden, intense pain, the likes of which I've never felt before, then darkness."

"According to Agent Flynn and Lieutenant Griphten, the second pureblood, by the name of 'Lorenz' according to Flynn, threw some kind of green stone at you. Supposedly it is what screwed you up." The leader of Hellsing said as he began reaching for another drawer. He withdrew a small green chip of what seemed like a jewel and placed it on the desk. Seras immediately felt ten times worse when that piece was close to her. "I sent the rest of it to our research and development people to figure out what it is, and why it did what it did to you."

Seras nodded slowly, then turned back to the file. There was silence in the room for quite some time, save only the sounds of typing on a keyboard and papers being shuffled. Eventually, Seras looked up with a strange look on her face, "Is this information correct?"

"Yes. I've already called a meeting of the round table members." Lord Hellsing said as he turned his head to look Seras in the eyes. "It'll be this Saturday here, and I would like you to attend."

Seras nodded. "So, we found our traitor."

"Oh yes. And I will make an example out of him. Then I will turn him over to you for interrogation, do with him as you will." At this point the man was allowing himself a small sadistic smile. Seras began to laugh as she thought of the possibilities. The man stopped smiling and then said, "On another note, your guinea pig is healed up now."

Seras nodded in understanding. "So when do you want me to bring him. I'm in no condition to do it now, probably two days at most."

The man seemed to think about this and then agreed. "That is fine. It shouldn't take you too long to run through those phase three and phase two candidates. Just be back here before the round table meeting. I will want to speak with you more on that before then."

Seras stood up and stretched her arms over head. "Understood. I'm going to retire for the evening then, sir. I still feel like crap."

"Rest up." Seras then turned to leave, not feeling the urge to do her usual sudden disappearance act. Before she reached the door, the man spoke up again. "Oh, that reminds me. Agent Flynn asked me to remind you about something."

Seras raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder. "What's that?"

The man seemed to have an amused grin. "Something about a bet and a red dress."

Victoria grabbed her forehead in annoyance. "That idiot…"

The man chuckled at her annoyance and said, "So I take it that he won said bet." He was only met by Victoria's annoyed silence, causing him to laugh. "I suppose it will be the only time anyone in this century will ever see you dressed up."

"Unless I lose another idiotic bet…" Victoria said, trailing off while trying to think up a way out of the bet.

"That will be a sight to see. What the hell did you bet on?"

Victoria groaned. "He bet he could go the rest of the assignment without pissing me off."

The man chuckled but raised an eyebrow in amazement. "Perhaps I should learn the secret from him."

"Oh shut up!" She exclaimed exasperatedly. Her eyebrow was twitching slightly as a new thought occurred to her. "How many people know?"

The man merely chuckled. "It seems most of the men are preparing their cameras." He said with much amusement in his voice.

Seras frowned, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You're enjoying this far too much to my liking."

"The shoe is on the other foot for a change Draculina."

"Is there anything else sir? This mockery is wearing thin." She asked in a cold voice, hoping to snap the man out of his amusement.

"No, go rest up and get ready for your date." He said, his mocking voice ringing through the office as she left the room before he had even finished speaking. Laughter rang in the office for quite some time afterwards, the leader of the Hellsing institution happy to win one exchange against the woman in the time he had been there.

Perhaps he was enjoying it far too much, but if he had known that a red evening gown had been placed in Vicotria's room, he probably would have been unable to stop laughing unless he passed out.

-

Seras frowned with a mixture of annoyance and anger as she looked at the evening gown that hung on a hanger off of one of the wall candleholders. It was a modest dress, not too revealing, nor too conservative. But it wasn't the fact the style of the dress that irked her, it was the knowledge that Flynn was probably laughing his ass off right now along with Lord Hellsing.

She idly reached up and read the tag on the side and blinked once in surprise. It was then that she heard a cocky voice from her doorway belonging to a certain person she really wanted to hurt right now. "I told you that you would look good in red."

Seras suddenly wished for one of her guns as she turned around and glared at Xavier, who stood leaning against the doorway, smiling like an idiot. She felt her knuckles cracking as she tightened her hand into a fist. "You little prick. Why the hell did the boss know about this?"

The man looked offended and said, "Why my dear Seras, I have no idea what you're talking about." He said in a mocking voice. Seeing the woman's eyes narrow further and hearing the sounds of her knuckles, he then said. "Come now, what's the point of winning a bet if I'm unable to tell others about it?"

Seras released her hands, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I don't know what angers me more; that you actually won that stupid bet, or that everyone knows about it." She then opened her eyes and asked, "And how the hell did you know my sizes?" She asked, her finger pointing towards the hanging dress.

Xavier merely chuckled, "Well, I am a well-known admirer of the female form." He said that statement with a lecherous grin, his point being more eloquently made through the expression rather than his words. Then he shrugged and added, "That and the hand is sometimes quicker than the eye." As he said this, he snapped the fingers on his right hand together once to reveal a playing card with the ace of diamonds on it. A moment later the card burst in a small flame, surprising even Seras as she watched in silence. He held the burning card on top of his hand, showing it off as he said, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust my dear."

Seras blinked once more, _That… was actually pretty cool._ She then crossed her arms in front of her chest and said in a deadpanned voice. "You looked through my closet."

The man grinned that stupid grin of his and said, "Bingo."

She sighed as if unsurprised and said, "You're really a piece of work, you know that?"

The man shrugged. "It was only another bet in the game of life. I've been lucky recently."

Seras shook her head. "I'm tired, get the hell out of here." She said tiredly, turning around and walking back towards her bed. She sat down on it and was about to change into her sleepwear when she realized he was still there. "I may have to go to dinner with you tomorrow, but I'm sure as not giving you a free show. Get the hell out." She said.

The man chuckled as he walked back into the hallway and closed the door. "See you tomorrow night, my dear." He said with an amused voice before it shut.

Seras finished changing and laid back on her bed, her eyes locked on the hanging dress, as if it was mocking her. She finally closed her eyes and began drifting off to sleep. "It's not that bad a dress…" She mumbled sleepily.

-

Xavier was laughing as he and Victoria walked out of the Hellsing manor towards the car that he was using. Victoria merely walked with a stone face expression, as if very angry but the truth was that she was embarrassed to a point where she just didn't know how to react. The pictures that had been taken, the whistles and catcalls from the other Hellsing soldiers, even with Lord Hellsing laughing as he took a picture of her as the two walked by. All of it just caused her to seemingly freeze up, her anger so strong that she felt her body locking up in order to not hurt anyone.

Xavier opened the passenger door for her with a small grin, his laughter subsiding. "I guess the dress was a winner. It seems that I wasn't the only one who thought you would look good in red." He took this time to once again admire her amazing body and the way that the dress he had acquired for her fitted to her body. It hung from her pale shoulders and revealed some more of her soft skin on the sides and the back area, but the front seemed very conservative. The strange contrast was reflected even more with the slit that ran up the side of the dress until it hit the knee area, revealing her lower right leg.

In other words, she looked sexy as hell to Xavier. He wouldn't admit that it had been his intent when he had chosen the dress for her, but somehow she, and the rest of those who knew the story behind the dress, could easily figure out. This only caused the commotion that occurred when they walked out together to increase beyond levels even he had expected. _It really is such a shame…_

Seras merely shook her head in annoyance as she carefully stepped into the car, taking car to not rip the long red silk dress that went down to her ankles. "I know at least three men in there I'm going to have to speak to when I get back, and one that should start writing his will now." She said as he closed the door. She watched Xavier, dressed up in dark blue suit, walk around the car to enter on the driver's side.

He chuckled as he started the car, its engine rumbling beneath its hood like a small wildcat. "No need for that Draculina. It was all in good fun. Think of it as payback for scaring the shit out of them every waking moment that you're near them."

As Seras and Xavier pulled on their seatbelts and begin to leave the manor, Seras shrugged slightly. "I suppose." She then glared at her feet, or rather the high heels that had somehow made their way into her room sometime today. "I know its all in good fun, but I have to say even I'm surprised with the heels Xavier. I haven't worn heels since I was human for god's sake."

He chuckled as he held the steering wheel with one hand. "So even vampires hate them. Who would've thought?" He asked in slight amusement.

Seras merely shook her head slightly as she grabbed her forehead in annoyance. _Just what did I get myself into?_

-

Seras looked around the fancy restaurant in complete shock as Xavier led her in. Her eyes scanned from all the beautiful chandeliers to all the well-dressed customers either waiting in line to be seated, or already sitting at tables in a spacious room. There was a string quartet playing in the corner, soft mellow sounds drifting through the entire area.

Xavier noticed her staring and smirked. He leaned over and whispered playfully into her ear, "Now Seras, its not polite to stare."

She shot him a strange glance and idly said, "God, I do not want to know how expensive this place is."

Xavier shrugged, securing his arm around hers as the two walked towards where the maitre d was waiting. "Does it really matter? Its not like we are short on money."

Seras nodded. "Yeah. Not having to pay bills and free room and board is nice." She said as the walked together. Seras idly began wondering how much money was actually in her bank account at that point. It had to have been increasing for over a century, it was probably a sizeable amount by now. She then looked to Xavier and asked, raising her eyebrow as she did so, "So how does a nutcase like you know about a place like this?"

The man grinned as he gave the maitre d their reservation number and said to her, "Lord Hellsing recommended it to me when he found out about our little bet."

Seras shook her head as the maitre d led the two towards their table. "Sometimes I get the feeling that he's getting a bigger kick out of this than you are." The maitre d pulled out a chair for Seras and gestured for her to sit. She thanked him as Xavier sat down across from her.

"Oh I doubt that." He said with a grin as the maitre d walked away, an odd look on his face from seeing Victoria's red eyes and pale skin. _Probably thinks she's an albino or something._ His gaze returned to the woman in front of him, taking in her beauty in a way he had never been able before.

Seras wasn't really paying attention to him though as she once again found herself looking over the fancy place. _Have I ever eaten in a place like this before?_ She found herself idly thinking as a waiter came over to take their orders. She didn't hear Xavier say anything but could sense that she was being watched so she looked up to see the waiter looking to her in confusion. Understanding what the man wanted, she merely said softly, "I'll just have whatever he is having." The waiter nodded and then bowed slightly before turning away.

Xavier gave Seras a somewhat concerned look. "It just dawned on me… can you still eat normal food?"

Seras shrugged slightly. "I doubt anything from a place this high-class can be considered 'normal' but yes, I can." Seeing the strange look on Xavier's face she explained, "I can eat like I could before, its just that it doesn't satisfy any real hunger."

"I see. You know," he said, watching as another waiter came over and poured some wine for the two of them, "there is a lot about you that I don't know." She blinked, not expecting to hear him say something like that. Seeing her confused expression, he elaborated as he lifted his glass, "I mean, you know why I am the way I am. How about you?"

Seras followed his motion and clinked the crystal glasses together gently before taking a small sip. Her eyes widened for a small moment before she placed the glass back on the table. "Merlot? Trying to impress me or something kid?" She asked with amusement, a slight upturn to the corners of her lips. "Why are you bothering? It's not like this will ever go anywhere." She said as she watched as he lowered his own glass.

Xavier merely laughed, "My dear Draculina, I'm not trying to get anywhere with you. Personally, considering how gorgeous you are, I wouldn't mind it, but we both know that I'm not that crazy." He then chuckled a bit, "Despite what my colleagues and you may think, I'm not as suicidal as tempt fate like that."

She didn't seemed fazed by the compliment at all but said, "Flattery will get you nowhere Xavier. But seriously though, why?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. When I made the bet it seemed like a good idea at the time." He then gave a small smile, raising his glass again, "Besides, its not beneath me to share a meal with a woman like you." He then raised his hands as if surrendering, "I just want to share a meal with my co-worker."

Seras blinked at the compliment this time, as least until her eyebrow began to twitch. Xavier was confused at first until she leaned forward slightly and whispered, "If you keep that line of thought running, you will not like what I will do to you." She was referring to the rather… explicit fantasy that was running through Xavier's mind. She then added, as if there were a further need to explain her threat, "I'll rip it off." She didn't mentioned what 'it' was, but Xavier figured he had a good idea.

He only laughed and said in an amused voice, "Scary indeed." He then snapped his fingers once or twice before saying, "Come on now, tell me a bit about you. It's not like I'll share it with the world or anything."

Seras sighed as she took another sip of the white wine and found herself thinking, _why not? If I don't he'll just keep pestering me, and I doubt he would speak of it again if I insisted that he didn't. _A small grin came to her face at that thought, causing Xavier to begin to worry. _At least if he knows what's good for him._ She then gave a small smile and said, "I guess it couldn't hurt, but if you repeat this to anyone, I will hurt you. Not in a minor way either kid."

Xavier chuckled at her threat in good fun. "Please then, allow me to hear the secret origins of Seras Victoria." He said in an overly dramatic voice, gesturing with his fingers as if he had magic powers. Seras merely sighed once more before speaking again, telling him the story of how she became a vampire. The music playing in the background only mixed with her tale, somehow relaxing her in a way she had not known for some time.

-

Xavier listened in wonder as she explained about her former master, or how it felt to shift into bats or vanish into the shadows. He was cutting his prime rib as she spoke, noticing that she was eating it as well. _It's a good cut, I suppose even someone like her can appreciate that. I'll never understand vegetarians though…_ The idle thought bounced around in his head for a moment before he asked softly. "So, your former master is THE Dracula?"

Seras took a bite of her food before replying. "Well… yes and no." Seeing Xavier's confused look prompted her to continue. She explained, "Well, Dracula was captured by the Van Hellsings a long time ago, long before the Middle-Ages even ended. Over the years as they set up the Hellsing institution, they slowly experimented on him, with all sorts of magic and other arcane arts. Towards the beginning of the twenty-first century, they began to experiment on him biologically as well." She then sighed as if depressed and said, "I suppose that you could say that when they were done experimenting on him, he was no longer Dracula. He was now Alucard."

"Ah. But then where did he go? You never really mentioned what happened to him." Xavier asked, taking another sip of wine.

Seras stopped eating at that point, the question causing her to freeze up momentarily. _Uh oh…_ Xavier thought as he watched her withdraw into silence. She spoke afterwards, her voice very soft. "He was sealed within the basement of Hellsing manor, an order coming from the Queen at the time." She then looked up and took a rather large sip from her wine glass, catching the man off-guard. "Perhaps it was for the best. I was only a fledgling at the time though."

Xavier put down his own fork and knife and said, "You respected him." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Seras nodded with a small smile. "Very much so. He…," she started, trailing off. She stopped and closed her eyes as if fighting something. _Don't start crying, not in front of Wildcard, not in a public place, not ever. Speak with pride, not sorrow!_ She then opened her eyes and spoke, an odd reverence in her voice which stunned Xavier silent for quite some time afterwards. "… was a great man. He was like a second father, perhaps more like an older brother, showing me how to live." She sighed once more before saying, "He is someone I will always respect, even after I die again. Some of my fondest memories are those of his praise."

The silence last for quite some time, neither speaking but lost within their own thoughts. Xavier eventually picked up his fork and started to eat. "You know, it's strange…"

"What's that?" Seras asked, picking up the odd tone in the man's voice.

He grinned, "You. I might be hearing things but before, that sounded like affection, perhaps even love when you spoke of Alucard." Seeing her shocked expression he quickly continued, his smile growing with every word. "Don't even try to deny it. I've seen all the signs before. It's nice to see that beneath all the slaying, undead-ness, and overall hostility, that there is actually a woman in there."

Seras almost choked on her wine as he said that, causing the man to laugh softly. She wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin before trying to speak, but stopping as if unable to put what she wanted to say into words. Then she sighed in defeat and leaned back in the chair slightly, looking off upwards and towards the side. "You're probably right. I never have fallen in love before, so I really don't know if that was the feeling or not. It is possible, but I doubt it. I can't explain why."

Xavier was about to say something before the waiter interrupted by bringing their bill. Seras watched with slight amusement as she saw Xavier's eyes widen immensely as he looked at the price. He reached into his pocket to remove a small plastic card and handed it to the waiter, who only nodded in understanding. "Should I pay my own meal?" Seras teased as the waiter walked away.

"Very funny." Xavier said with obvious sarcasm. As they waited for the waiter to return, he said to her, "I'm satisfied with just dinner. If you want to head back now, we can."

Seras thought for a moment then merely shrugged. "I'm fine with hitting a bar if you feel up to it. I have to bring Griphten to the facility tomorrow so I won't be back for a while anyway. Besides, I've only been up for a few hours, the night is still young."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise but it was at that moment that the waiter returned. Xaiver replaced the card in his wallet before the two guests rose from their chairs and began walking out. Xavier tried to loop his arm through hers again but she playfully elbowed him in the side. "Fine, fine." He said in a mock defeatist tone of voice, causing Victoria to smile slightly.

He once again opened the car door for her, which she didn't say anything about. He went around and got in the driver's seat and then closed the door. He then began to drive towards the nearest bar, wondering why she didn't want to go back yet. _Aw, hell with it. The longer she stays out, the more I get to see that fantastic body._ "I heard that Xavier."

He only laughed as he turned the corner. Deciding that he might as well just continue to have fun, he placed his hand on Victoria's leg and said with a small grin, "So…, you're still a virgin eh?"

Seras only rolled her eyes and said, "Don't even start or I'll throw you out of this car myself."


	17. Chapter 16

Okay, I realize that this is probably late and coming, and although it doesn't really advance the plot a whole lot more, it does open a little more into the Division S operatives. This is also a longer than usual update.

As for updating either story, this is probably the last update either of them will see for quite some time. I'll leave the stories up on , but I am starting classes up again in less than two weeks. Once I get to school, I'll be taking a break from writing most likely. Probably won't see another update until around thanksgiving or winter break.

Thanks to those who have taken the time to read these two stories and given me honest criticism, it is very appreciated. And you will see more, you'll just have to wait.

Ja ne.  
Rurouni

**Chapter Sixteen: Training Grounds**

"Those who believe solely in their own strength are fools who will die at the rise of many. True strength comes from external forces."

"Where is she?" Griphten asked himself as he stood leaning against the side of a helicopter, his bags already secured for the trip. He had his arms crossed across his chest and his eyes searching out in front of him. The sun was beginning to go down and he was waiting impatiently for his 'escort' to arrive.

The helicopter pilot merely walked up next to Griphten, a cigarette in his mouth and a small smirk on his face. "Don't worry about it. She'll show up when she's ready." He then patted Griphten on the shoulder before tossing his cigarette to the ground and rubbing it out with his boot. "Besides, might as well take a look around while waiting. You probably won't be back for a while."

Griphten gave the man an odd look before returning his gaze to the courtyard. The helicopter pilot merely shook his head before walking around to board the chopper. He began to run through the machine's pre-start checklist as Griphten's eyes locked onto a slowly approaching figure who was holding a hand against her forehead as if in pain.

As Seras reached the chopper, she ignored the glare that was being given to her and yelled to the pilot. "Are we good to go?"

The pilot gave her a thumbs up and said, "Roger that ma'am."

Seras nodded and turned to Griphten. "Alright, get in." He sighed, feeling it would be best to not bring up the fact that the reason they were running late was because of her. As he reached the open hatch to the chopper, Seras grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

"What is it ma'am?" He asked, wondering why she was staring at him like she was.

She didn't say anything at first, but after a few moments sent a fist into the man's gut. He doubled over in pain, wheezing violently as the air rushed from his lungs. She leaned forward slightly and whispered into his ear, "I want all those pictures you took, the negatives as well."

He nodded dumbly as he continued to attempt to breathe. Seras then walked past him and hopped up into the open hatch. As soon as he was able to breathe again, Griphten followed her into the chopper, one hand on his stomach, wondering if he was going to have a mark there.

-

"These were the best shots you could get?" Seras asked incredulously as she looked through a set of photos. Not wanting to anger a soon to be an ill-tempered woman, Griphten remained silent as she continue to critique his photographic skills. "You didn't even get my good side." She said with amusement in her voice.

"So how was your date?" He asked, his voice showing some cynic amusement.

Victoria blinked once before looking back to the pictures. "I'm thinking that we need to start giving Wildcard shots of 151 before we go on missions. He's much more… 'normal' when he's toasted."

Griphten paled, remembering how the man fought. Visions of a grenades being tossed towards him blinked in his mind before he shook them free of his thoughts. "I don't think that would be a good idea, considering his… strange habits."

Victoria shrugged. "Probably. This one's not bad." She said, holding one picture up to her eye level and allowing a small smirk. "It's a shame kid, you should've been a photographer." She said with a trace of sarcasm as she placed that picture in the pocket of her uniform.

Feeling his pride deflating a bit, he said, "I took the best ones I could. Too many people were in the way for me to get a good shot." Seeing Victoria's eyebrow twitch, he quickly realized that it was the wrong thing to say.

"So," she began calmly as she put the photos down on her lap, giving him a glare that he could only fear for his life at, "who were the others taking pictures. I counted at least six besides you, but I don't know their names."

"…" Silence was the only way Griphten could respond to that look of distaste and anger.

"You will tell me, won't you?" Seras said coldly, her tone indicating that it was a statement, not a question.

"…I suppose…" Internally the man was desperately wondering if that he would make it to this facility alive or be killed on the chopper by the woman who was now giving him a smile that terrified him.

"Why were you even doing this?" She asked, holding up the pictures. "You don't strike me as that type of weirdo."

He shrugged. "Hellsing's top executioner, the infamous Seras Victoria, the lady of death herself in a dress." He said, gesturing as if trying to increase the drama. He then sighed and said, "there were plenty of people who would pay to see you in a dress. Flynn said if I sold them at the facility alone I'd make a killing."

Seras eye twitched again and Griphten once again hoped that he would get to set foot on ground again before being killed. "That bastard…" He heard her mumble under her breath as she tore the rest of the pictures up. She however held the negatives in her hands and stared at them for a bit before placing them in her pocket. She then leaned back and stared at the ceiling of the chopper, her thoughts now elsewhere as the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of the rotors outside. She then smirked and commented in an amused voice, "At least I looked good. Not bad for the first date I've had in more than a century."

Griphten blinked, wondering how he should respond to that. He then sighed and leaned back and stared at the ceiling like she was. "You looked damn good. It's a pity really."

"Flynn thought the same thing." She then looked at him with her eyes and said, "Don't even think about coming out of this training and being like him when you're done. I have too many annoyances with him as it is."

Griphten shuddered at the thought. "Please shoot me in the head if I come out like him." He was only saying it as a slight musing and joke, but her next comment caused him to cringe slightly.

"Agreed." Griphten merely sighed and thought, _I hope she takes that as a rhetorical request._

-

In the past, fortresses were the most defensive structures in the world. Their high stonewalls heavy gates provided little ways of entry for invaders, even less so if the fortress itself was surrounded by, let's say, a moat. It would incur that only foes could enter by crossing a bridge, one which was often raised far before anything like that could happen.

These facts bounced around in Griphten mind as the chopper slowly descended on top of what looked like… a television station? _From the way they made it sound like, I was thinking it was going to be some deserted castle, not some place like this in plain sight. I'm disappointed._ Seras seemed to understand what he was thinking and said, "Don't let appearances fool you. This is by far one of the most secure installations in the country." Griphten only nodded slightly as the chopper touched down softly and the rotors shut down. Seras stood up, walked over and opened the hatch of the chopper, sliding it out to the side. She then looked towards Griphten and said, "Come on. It's time that you learn about the world."

Griphten raised an eyebrow at the odd phrase, but said nothing as he rose from his seat and followed her off of the chopper. By now the rotors had stopped and the helicopter pilot was merely sitting in the cockpit reading a magazine. He didn't look towards the two but asked, "So how long will it be Victoria?"

She shrugged. "Depends on how many recruits Sanders wants me to shred." She looked up as if thinking about something then said, "Probably until later this evening at least. You might want to go get something to eat or something."

The pilot nodded as he put down his reading material. "I guess I shall be joining you two temporarily then." He then got out of the cockpit and joined the two on the side of the chopper.

It was at this point where a door leading to the rooftop burst open and Griphten's eyes widened as a fully armored squad of Hellsing soldiers surrounded them, weapons with the safeties off pointing at them and expressions fit to kill. Griphten slowly raised his arms in surrender. "Care to explain this?" He asked Seras, not making any sudden movements.

She didn't seem to find any of this disconcerting in the slightest, raising a hand to her mouth to cover a slight yawn. "Looks like Sanders hasn't told them that we were coming yet. Lazy old man."

Griphten looked over to her with a grin. "Are you in any position to call anyone here old?" He immediately regretted it once it left his mouth, leaving him wondering how badly she was going to hurt him.

Seras slowly turned her head towards him and her eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Her imminent beating of Griphten was stopped before it could begin thanks to a gruff voice that barked orders from the doorway. "Stand down men!" All of the soldiers immediately lowered their weapons with no hesitation, as if the voice was that of god itself. Griphten couldn't help it but let a soft whistle in appreciation, only to receive a rather rough hit on the back of his head for it.

Seras shook her head once more before turning to face their new arrival. He was an older man, now walking with a cane due to an old injury. His hair was graying and there were a large amount of wrinkles on his face. While he may be old, the man was still as fit as a solider, his biceps being shown off through the sleeves of the uniform he was wearing. "Good to see that you still hold sway here Sanders."

The old man merely scoffed. "And I see that you're still young as ever bloodsucker." He then allowed himself a small grin as he walked over to her, using his cane for support. He held out his hand to shake hers. "It's good to see you again Seras."

Seras smiled back and shook his hand with a firm grasp. "Likewise Sanders." She then nodded her head towards Griphten and said, "This is your new student. Be sure to get in him up to par."

The man nodded and then asked, "So is he talented, or is he successful?"

Seras grinned, knowing full well what the man was asking. "He's talented, an ability that will be quite useful in the future. I've been having him work with it for a while now, preparing him for you." She looked to Griphten and said, "Come over and introduce yourself. He's your new CO."

Griphten quickly walked over and snapped to attention. "Sir. Lt. Thomas Griphten reporting as ordered, sir!"

The old man looked the soldier over critically before turning and asking Victoria, "Are you sure?" She only nodded to respond and the older man turned back to the soldiers. "Fine then. Boy, first of all lose the titles and ranks. They mean nothing here. Once you step into this building, all that matters is strength. The strong rule this place, that's all you need to know. Acknowledge those stronger than you and help those weaker than you. That is the only rule of this place." He then turned and gestured for the two to follow him. He stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder, "Oh, and I am the voice of god in this place. Don't you dare even think that you don't have to do what I say. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." Griphten said, wondering what type of training facility this place really was. He took a deep breathe as the man walked down the staircase with Seras following him. He took one last look at the sky, as if sensing it was the last time he would see it for quite some time, then slowly followed down after them.

-

"So what did you mean, 'talented or successful'?" Griphten asked as the three rode down an elevator. Victoria remained silent as she leaned against the back of the elevator, crossing her arms across her chest and bowing her head with her eyes shut. It seemed as if she was sleeping but both men knew better.

The old man spoke, his voice showing years of para-military discipline. "I meant, were you one who has special abilities or are you good at killing vampires?" Seeing the man's bewildered expression, the elder man said, "I take it you haven't really been told about what goes on here?"

"Not really. They just said I was being sent here for Division S training." Griphten responded, shooting a glance towards Victoria who seemed oblivious to the conversation. "Never even heard of this place before Victoria told me I had this ability."

"Well that's understandable. We're Hellsing's biggest secret, next to Draculina here."

"I'm not beyond breaking a old man's hip Sanders." Victoria said with a smirk as she raised her head to look at the two.

He laughed at that, slamming his cane into the floor once. "Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way Victoria." He then turned back to Griphten and said, "Perhaps this one should see the phase two and three testing. He should be aware of the world he is about to step into."

Seras only nodded and asked, "Are the phase two candidates prepared?"

He shrugged. "You wouldn't probably think so, but I feel they are as good as any of the other candidates to reach that level of skill. The phase three candidates look very promising. Especially one lad, whose ability could even cause trouble for you."

Seras raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, I guess I'll have to show him the truth of the world then, since you're giving him such high praise."

The old man laughed at that. "I don't think it will really matter. When he passed the second phase, he did it on his own skill. We've only recently discovered his ability and have had him working with it. If we give him three, perhaps five years without any sort of impedance, he would probably be capable of killing you."

Seras only laughed at that. "Now I'm interested. What's his ability?" She asked with a hint of a smile on her face, the promise of an interesting battle intriguing her.

The man scoffed as the elevator came to a stop. "Now where would be the fun in just telling you something like that? You'll find out when you test him." He said, leading the others out of the elevator.

To say that Griphten was impressed was an understatement. As he followed behind the other two in silence, he couldn't help but stare as they walking past the training grounds. It seemed as if there was an endless supply of weapons, both close ranged and firearms of every sort. He could have sworn he even saw one of set of soldiers training with crossbows and silver arrows. He finally snapped out of his stupor as they passed what looked like a live fire range with several men running a simulation on it. "What... is all this?"

Sanders merely stopped and watched the test that was being run on the range and said, "This is our reactions course. Two teams of men will square off and try to kill the opposite team before their own team fails."

"Not with live bullets I assume."

"No, what they're using is an odd variant on paintballs." He watched as one man took two in the chest before falling to the ground. "Only unlike paintballs, the bullets hurt like hell, far more than even taking a blank at close range." Griphten could only wince as he watched one man take a hit in the Achilles tendon, forcing him to hobble behind some shelter before being gunned down by another member of the opposing team.

"What about the rest?" Griphten asked, snapping out of his trance-like state and pointing back towards the other rooms that they had passed.

Sanders frowned and looked at Victoria. "You know, you could have told him something about this place." He deadpanned.

Victoria took the complaint in stride, explaining it to Griphten. "Each candidate has his choice of weapon. Many pick one weapon and train with it until they have full mastery over it." Seeing his confused expression, she elaborated, "You've seen Flynn fight with his weapon, right?"

Griphten nodded once. "Yeah... I've never seen anything like it before. I wasn't even sure what he was doing at first."

Seras nodded in understanding before Sanders spoke up, "That boy was an exception. He had full mastery of that glove of his before he even joined Hellsing." He then yawned before saying, "Many master some type of hand to hand combat weapon, such as a katana or a rapier. Some still stick to their firearms, as we do have an operative who still uses a pair of desert eagle handguns" He then looked at Victoria, "Must be your influence."

Seras scoffed at the statement. "I would prefer it if you didn't compare my masterpieces with those relics." _Well, technically they are master's..._

"Hey, I'll have you know that the Desert Eagle is still a damn good gun!" Sanders said, poking Seras in the stomach with his cane. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance at his poke but she did nothing to elevate it. He turned back to Griphten and said, "The sad fact is, almost everyone can use a gun. Its the other weapons that require skill, dexterity, and stamina. In essence, the candidates choose weapons to train with that train their bodies at the same time."

"I see... Is that something I would have to already know?" He asked, pondering over the idea.

The old man shrugged, "You can always change weapons. The training is split into three phases. Phase one is your basic boot camp style training with weapons mastery added in."

Griphten's ears perked up at the word 'phase.' _They've been using it a lot lately,_ he thought, remembering the earlier conversation. "What are the other two phases?"

Seras merely grinned. "It would be easier to show you." She said, turning and beginning to walk away again.

Sanders nodded in agreement. "You'll get a front row seat. Come on, we need to make it to the other room. I'm sure the men are already waiting for us." Griphten only followed after the old man, once again wondering about the world he had somehow stepped into.

-

Griphten found himself watching over a large open area, with random debris and makeshift buildings constructed to give the illusion of a urban area. Seras stood next to him with her arms crossed and watched from above as Sanders gave orders to a group of men. Although old, his voice was as firm as ever, commanding the loyalty of those who heard it. "We will commence the phase two testing. All phase two candidates are to remain here. Phase three candidates are to report to the observation area. Move out!" He bellowed, slamming his cane into the ground as he finished his orders. The men all saluted and Griphten watched with mild interest as Sanders and one other man began walking away from the gathering.

He looked to Seras for information. "So, now what?"

She merely shrugged. "Sanders will explain it to you." She then reached into her coat and removed her guns. She released the catch, causing a pair of clips to fall to the floor by her feet. She then held the guns by their barrel to Griphten. He hesitated for a moment before reached up and grabbed them from her. He was shocked when she let go and almost dropped the twin pistols to the ground from their weight. _She actually uses such things?_ He thought in amazement as she stepped towards the edge of the overlook. She then winked at him once before she jumped off, landing in a crouch. He blinked once again, shocked that she had dropped from such a high height without hurting herself, then sighed when he remembered what she was.

It was at this point when Sanders joined Griphten on the overlook. Seeing the old soldier entered, Griphten repeated his question. "So, now what?"

Sanders merely chuckled. "I take it that Victoria has already gone down. Well then," he said, removing a stopwatch from his pocket. He checked the sky and watched the sun's position in the sky for a few moments before yelling down to the ground. "Begin in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... GO!" He pressed the button to start the stopwatch and watched in anticipation as Seras seemed to stand up. He then looked to Griphten and said, "Phase two testing consists of a team of candidates attempting to kill Victoria during the daytime."

"What? Kill her?"

Sanders chuckled. "Don't worry. There is no silver used in this test, so I don't think anyone down there can seriously hurt her, not that I think any of them can." Seeing Griphten's confused expression he explained, "I tell the recruits that they have to 'kill' her in less than ten minutes, but in reality they just have to 'survive' for that long. If Victoria hits them in anyway, they are considered dead. Though, given her strange sense of amusement when it comes to training soldiers, most aren't just touched, if you get what I mean."

Griphten slowly understood as he turned his eyes back to the test. Seras was slowly taking her time, as if familiarizing herself with the course. She then yelled out unexpectedly, catching Griphten off guard. "Time?"

Sanders chuckled. "One minute." He then whispered to Griphten, "She always gives them at least a minute to hide themselves or form plans or whatnot. Here is where the true game begins."

Seras seemed to nod in agreement with Sanders, although she didn't really hear what he said. She closed her eyes and focused on her surroundings as she tried to detect where the candidates were hiding the makeshift mock urban maze. Although most of her powers were sealed during the day, she still possessed heightened senses of hearing and sight. Her regeneration ability wasn't too strong, but considering that most of the phase two candidates were in no position to really harm her, she didn't care. _It adds a little bit more to this as well, perhaps even a strange sort of training to myself_, she found herself idly thinking before she opened her eyes, well aware of where each man was hiding. She allowed herself a thin smile before slowly making her way into the urban maze.

The two watching from above could still where everyone was from above, looking down on the urban maze in a similar way researchers once ran mice through mazes. Only this time the mouse was Victoria and the candidates were the cheese. Griphten only shuddered to think of the comparison but that thought was quickly smashed as she found the first candidate who drew a gun and fired at her at point blank range. She merely dodged the shot by grabbing the man's arm before he fired, in a similar move that he had seen her use against the vampire back in that factory.

Although he couldn't see it that well, he knew that she had a sadistic smile on her face as she lifted the man into the air by his gun arm and held him there, dangling him like a fisherman would hold a prize catch. She then sent one quick fist into his gut, causing the man's body to contort in a very unusual way before she dropped him to the ground. Griphten could help but wince in sympathy to the man whose body seemed to be twitching as it lay on the ground. At that he turned to Sanders and asked, "What is the passing rate of this phase?"

The man laughed. "Depends on her mood. If she's in a pissy mood its almost a guarantee that no one will pass. Overall, the passing rate for a group is probably around 5%."

"5% That's all?" Griphten was shocked at this. Granted the candidates were fighting against a pure blood vampire, but 5%?

"Well, that's for a group. Usually when someone passes its because they survived the time limit and their teammates didn't. Those teams that do pass are highly efficient with each other and often set up sneak attacks and ambushes to surprise her. Though even if they do pass this phase, it becomes harder for them at the next phase. As for individuals, they pass depending on their own skill. Victoria does limit herself after all."

"Oh." Griphten said, now understanding the low percentage. He looked down at the pair of pistols that were on the floor and thought to himself, _Is that what she calls limiting herself?_

His musings were interrupted by the gutteral scream of another man as Victoria sent him flying through a wall. Sanders laughed at that, yelling "Oh, that's gotta hurt!"

Griphten only shot the man a shocked gasp, _They're all insane. Every one of these Division S members are insane..._ He then turned back and did his best to watch the remainder of the testing without cringing as Victoria eliminated all the candidates one by one. _Just what am I getting into?_

-

Griphten only looked down at Victoria blankly, somehow not surprised at the speed that she eliminated all the candidates. Sanders was looking at her with a cross glare as the failed candidates struggled to leave the testing area. Some helped their fallen colleagues, while some merely limped out, their pride torn to shreds. Sanders yelled down to Victoria, "Did you really have to beat the shit out of all of them? You realize that you only have to touch them, right?"

Seras shrugged at that, stretching her arms slightly. "Where's the fun in that. They get the beating that they deserve, had I been a member of Iscariot they would've been dead instead of injured. You should know that better than anyone else Sanders."

The comment caused the temperature to drop several degrees around Sanders. His cross glare was bordering on a murderous one, causing Griphten to take a step away from him. Finally the old man merely turned and began walking away, leaving the stunned soldier there. Griphten scratched his head, unsure what to do before he called down to Seras. "Ma'am? What now?"

Seras blinked, forgetting that Griphten was even there. She finally said, "Just keep watching. The phase three test is next. That one will be worth your time to watch."

"Is it similar to the phase two test?" Griphten yelled down, trying to think of how a test could be even more difficult.

"More or less." Seras explained, "It's a one on one fight between the candidate and myself. Another survival test, for a time until I see fit. Though he is allowed to be more than touched, considering we'll be using weapons. Though if I hit him in a vital area, such as the heart, lungs, neck, or head, he loses." She looked towards the sky and saw the sun retreating behind the horizon as the moon rose in the distance. "Night will be coming soon so we'll begin it as soon as the sun retreats."

Griphten raised an eyebrow. "Why do you wait for the sun to go down?" He asked, quite confused at why one test was during the day and the other was at night.

Seras looked at the man as if he was an idiot. "Have you forgotten? I'm a god damn vampire! The sun limits most of my abilities. The one on one fight is me against the candidate with no limitations. Granted, I use paint bullets and silver isn't used once again, but the rest of my abilities are allowed." She then coiled her legs lower and jumped up, surprising the hell of out Griphten as he fell back on his backside in shock. Seras gave the man a funny look before bending over and picking up her pistols. She then reached behind her on her belt to remove a pair of clips that looked different than the ones that were still sitting on the floor from when she removed them earlier. Griphten could only assume that they were the paint bullets she mentioned. She loaded her guns quickly and placed them in her holsters before jumping back down to the staging area. "Come on Sanders, let's get this over with. I have work back at Hellsing manor and I'm sure you need to start training the pup up there watching."

While Griphten didn't appreciate the nickname given to him, he knew that it was true. He could not even begin to compare to the recruits that were here training, this he knew for a fact. He didn't have much time to think about it however as the door opened, revealing a disgruntled Sanders and a younger man, who Griphten recognized from earlier. The soldier waked at a slow pace, as if trying to gather his concentration for what he knew would be a hell-raising battle. It seemed that he was so lost in concentration that he tripped over a piece of rubble that covered the staging area's floor. He fell forward face first and landed in an unceremonious position.

Sanders stopped and looked at the man in annoyance. "Petrovski, get your ass up and greet Victoria."

"Yes sir!" The man said as he quickly rose to his feet and walked briskly over to where Victoria stood, her eyebrow twitching as if to say, _You can't be serious._ "Forgive my clumsiness ma'am. It's a honor to be able to fight against you again."

Seras raised an eyebrow at the statement. She looked over this new soldier with a sense of mild interest. He had pale skin, not as pale as he own but still a light color. He had dark hair that was cut short into a military-style cut. He was wearing a brown jacket of some material she could not determine by it was plane to see from the bulge under it that he was carrying at least a pistol. A pair of sweat pants adorned his legs, with the word 'Moscow' written along the side of the black pants. He had light blue eyes that seemed to shine over with respect when he looked back to see Sanders hobbling up next to him. Seras finally asked, "You Russian?"

The man looked surprised before answering, "Yes. Yes I am. My name is Sergei Petrovski." He held out his hand to shake but Victoria only looked at him blankly. He slowly removed his hand before scratching the back of his head.

_Is this guy really capable?_ Seras found herself wondering as she turned back to Sanders. "I take it that he is your phase three candidate that you spoke so highly of."

"Indeed. Don't let his skittish nature fool you. This kid holds the most promise since that silent Japanese guy that came here a while back." Sanders said, his face revealing a sick grin.

Seras nodded in understanding before turning to Sergei. "So, I take it that you understand this test and are prepared."

The man straightened up and saluted somewhat, "Yes ma'am!"

Seras grabbed her forehead in annoyance. "Don't call me that. And don't salute me." She turned to Sanders said, "Well old man, whenever you want to start."

Sanders nodded and turned to leave. He then yelled up to Griphten, "Hey kid, once I leave the room, say start whenever you want."

Griphten nodded in understanding as he watched the old man walk towards the exit. His gaze traveled over to where Seras stood with her arms crossed and watched the soldier remove a pair of what seemed like spiked brass knuckles from his jacket pockets and put them on. Instead of the goofy, starstruck expression that framed the man's face earlier, this one was of all business, blank and unreadable. Seras quirked a small smile, _This could be interesting. _Finally, the door closed behind Sanders and Griphten yelled, "Alright, begin!"

Seras found herself on the defensive as the man was on her far faster than she could've thought possible. She quickly moved her head to avoid a fist to her face, before turning her body to avoid another punch from the other hand that almost hit her in the chest area.. She found her eyes widening as the man quickly spun with his punch and lifted his leg in the air to kick at her head and neck. Seras quickly raised her arm to block, feeling the impact on her forearm. She blinked when she realized that the man was also wearing steel lined boots and shin guards.

He didn't let up for a second as he continued his physical assault. He quickly sent another one-two combination towards Victoria's chest and head, lightly grazing her face with his second punch. Seras allowed a small smirk as she hopped away, _he's fast. That's good._ She pulled out her pistols and took aim as she flew backwards, unleashing one bullet from each gun towards him.

Seras watched in shock as the man didn't seem surprised at the attack, nor did he make any attempt to get out of the way. As she flew backwards, before she even began to draw her guns, he had readied himself into a strange stance. As the bullets were fired she watched in amazement as the man quickly made two punching motions very quickly. Victoria heard the clanging of metal and watched him as he lowered his fists, the steel knuckles now painted various colors.

"Impressive." Seras remarked, understanding full well why Sanders recommended this one for phase three testing. "You're very quick."

He shook his head. "Not as fast as you. I'm merely… shall we say, perceptive." He raised his hands into a guard position again and asked, "Shall we continue?"

Seras scoffed at the man. "Of course!" She raised her guns again to fire but found herself on the receiving end of a pair of throwing knives. The knives hit her in the right forearm but she shrugged it off, unleashing a torrent of fire. The candidate dashed to the side behind some cover as the onslaught continued. Seras ceased firing after a moment before holstering her guns and reached over to remove the two knives from her forearm. They fell to the ground and Seras watching in mild fascination as the small wounds sealed up quickly due to her regeneration abilities. Finally she looked up and cracked her neck before thinking to herself, _Sanders was right, he is an interesting one. This is where the test truly begins though._

-

"I can't believe that guy is fighting evenly with Victoria…" Griphten remarked as he watched the two continue their battle. The man's movements reminded him of Agent Flynn's, but he still found himself amazed that he was fighting evenly with Victoria with only his fists and a few throwing weapons.

"They have to be able to do at least this much." Sanders scoffed, still not impressed with his pupil's performance. "Seras is still holding back as well. She's trying to gauge his strength."

Griphten looked over to Sanders and finally asked something that had been bothering him. "So what's this 'special ability' of his?"

Sanders rubbed his chin and continued to watch the spectacle. "How to explain it best… I guess you could say he can control his perception of things."

"Huh?" Griphten was confused and made no attempt to hide this fact.

Sanders chuckled and tried to explain it further. "I really can't explain it too well, it's mostly from what the candidate himself has told me about it. He is able to speed up his perception to the point where it seems like everything around him is moving slow."

"I don't understand."

"Are you an idiot? If everything still seems to be moving slowly yet you can move at the same speed, it will appear to your opponent that you are insanely fast." He paused for a moment, "Think of it this way: a car is about to run over someone. If you could slow down time but move your body at the normal speed, you would be able to snag the person out of the car's path in what would appear to be an instant. Now I don't really know if that is how his ability works, but its something to that nature."

"That still sounds pretty useful."

"Not as much as you think, since apparently it wears him out heavily. We can't really figure out why. Perhaps if we actually could explain what he was doing then we could, but until then…"

"Even so, he can naturally increase his speed with some working out and then with that ability it would increase it even more. From what I've seen just Flynn do, if the Russian over there reached Flynn's level, he would only have to use that ability in a pinch. It wouldn't really be needed."

Sanders nodded. "His actually strength and speed are about average, but using this ability he tends to match even Victoria's speed. If we ever got him to the level of a full agent's physical conditioning, then he would be unstoppable. I doubt even Victoria would stand a chance against him."

"I see. Though do you think that Victoria will see him fit to pass?"

"We'll find out soon. It looks like she's about to get serious."

-

Seras was very pleased with this man as she continued to avoid his punches and kicks. _It's rare that someone takes this test with suck weapons, but it is also very refreshing. I haven't had a good close quarters phase three test since Ryouji…_ She raised the Jackal to block his next roundhouse, taking the impact of the man's foot and shin as he tried to drive it to her face. She quickly raised the Cassul and fired while his foot was up in the air.

She was surprised when she watched the bullet actually impact against the man's shoulder, exploding in green paint. His leg fell from its position and he stumbled backwards, grabbing his shoulder slightly as he dashed behind some cover in the urban maze. She raised an eyebrow and wondered idly, _that shouldn't have hit… Considering what he was doing before, a carelessly aimed shot like that shouldn't have hit him._ Seras then frowned as she lowered both her guns and took a few steps forward. _Is he getting tired?_

The Russian was hiding behind the corner of one of the mock buildings, breathing heavily from exertion. The green mark from where the bullet had hit his shoulder burned like hell but he ruthlessly forced himself to ignore it as he reached under the sleeve of his coat and withdrew his pistol. It looked odd to see his hands that were already armed with the spiked knuckles holding the small firearm, but he was getting desperate. _I shouldn't have used it all in the beginning… I didn't think it would be this long of a test… Though I probably would already be eliminated if I had not started while using it._

He shook his head once more to clear his thoughts before taking a deep breath and threw himself back into the game. For that was exactly what this test was, a deranged game of hunter/hunted. He knew that the vampire had more experience and skill than he could ever hope to possess but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. _Actually, just that one. If I didn't have this ability, I would've been considered dead after her first shot._

He turned a corner to find himself staring at a wall. He had come to a dead end in the maze. Cursing softly in Russian, he turned around to go back the way he came but paused when he heard something. It was a soft sound, like as if a small breeze had just blown by. He gulped and spun, his gun aimed up ready to fire.

Only to see nothing. He took a few steps forward and scanned the wall, as if searching for a place from within where an attack could be launched from. He saw nothing but once again heard a soft sound, and now he could recognize what it was. Soft feminine chuckling.

"I must say, you have surprised me. When I first saw you I doubted that you would last this long. You're as skilled as Sanders claimed." He heard her soft melodious voice, as if a siren's call being carried by an unfelt wind. It was still dark and threatening though, causing the man to gulp nervously.

He slowly began to back away until he felt something poking into his back. He closed his eyes in defeat when he realized what it was, _Oh damn, this will hurt at this range._ He then opened his eyes and performed a last ditch effort to spin away from the gun that was driving into his back. He merely watched in shock as the backhand he threw went through the grinning vampire, as if she was only an illusion. "The hell?"

"I take it that Sanders didn't tell you about my more… interesting abilities. One of them is the ability to vanish within the shadows and create illusions." She paused for a moment, as one would while licking their lips in anticipation. "And we shall have fun with this last talent of mine…" A small laugh echoed in his mind as the last line was spoken directly into his mind.

Needless to say, the small test given did not last much longer as Victoria toyed with the rest of the man's strength before just knocking him out with a well placed blow to the back of the neck. She watched him slump forward and fall to the ground with mixed emotions. He had done well, all things considered. Though his unnatural fatigue that had caught up to him was a concern of hers, she did notice how his techniques and attacks were unrefined yet would still be effective with the weapons he used.

Finally she bent down and lifted the man over her shoulder. It wasn't long before she exited the urban maze and handed off the unconscious man to someone who was watching the test. She then walked away, vanishing into the shadows, leaving a confused Griphten and an irate Sanders.

-

Sanders stood on the roof of the building that was the cover for the training facility. He held a glass of ice and whiskey in his hand as he watched the horizon in the distance. They could not see London from this distance, even with the lights lit up. The building was in the middle of a small city in England and often escaped much notice. People tended to care less and less about them until it seemed that everyone just forgot about it. And that was the way Sanders enjoyed it.

"Such a nice view, eh old man?" Seras said as she walked forward from the shadows, joining the old man on the edge of the roof.

He didn't jump at her sudden appearance, as if he had been expecting it. "It's peaceful up here at night." He said as he took a drink from his whiskey.

Seras reached into her coat and withdrew a small bottle of alcohol. "Here, an apology for my bitchy wisecrack earlier." She said, holding the bottle out to him. He turned his head slightly and reached up for it, noticing the label on the side.

"Gentlemen's Jack eh, you are an old soul Victoria." He said with a bit of amusement before placing the bottle down next to him. "I accept your apology, though I do hope you refrain from making comments about my lost leg in front of the men. It doesn't help their morale to know that they can still be killed once they make it through this training." He said as he pulled his pant leg up to reveal a titanium bar for one of his legs.

"I know. I was out of line, but you know I only meant to make a point to the recruits." She said, sitting down on the edge of the roof, her legs hanging off.

Sanders remained silent, his thoughts drifting back to the Iscariot agent who had taken his leg. He remembered that battle with mixed emotions. He regretted in one way because it was the battle that he had lost his leg and in turn, removed from active duty from the Hellsing Institution. It was only because of Victoria that he still worked for the institution like he did today. On the other hand, he looked at that battle with fondness, remembering the thrill of the fight, the rush he experienced with all of his near-death blows. It had truly been one of the most exciting days of his life and would not take it back, even if it meant reclaiming his leg.

Snapping out of his reverie, Sanders turned his head to the side and looked down at the sitting woman. "So, does he become a Division S operative?"

Seras closed her eyes, knowing full well whom he was referring to. In the end, who became a Division S member fell to Seras, it always had. It was usually a case of black and white, pass or fail. It was very rare for Seras to be undecided after fighting them. "I'm not really sure, I'd like your opinion."

Sanders blinked at that statement before taking another sip of whiskey from his glass. "I don't think he's ready yet. Give him another year, maybe less then let him try again. If he can't overcome the weakness in his ability, he needs to reach the physical level of a normal operative then."

Seras nodded in understanding. "I see your point. Griphten did tell me about his ability when I got him settled in. I did think his movements were strange but I would've never figured it out. It's really a terrifying power when you think about it."

"Indeed."

"My only disagreement with you right now is that we need more agents of Division S caliber. Especially now…"

Sanders quirked his head up at that. "Why? Is something going on back in London?"

Seras cursed under her breath. _Damn, let it slip._ She decided to tell him the truth. She respected Sanders far too much to lie to his face. "Something is brewing but we don't know what. It involves a powerful ancient vampire and her lackeys. It has to do with the rapid growth of freak vampires in England."

The man took another drink before asking, "So, the need for agents is to wipe out this group?"

Seras shook her head. "Not so much that as I sense a battle unlike one any of us has seen is coming, and I'd like to have a full deck before going into the game."

The man shuddered. "Stop that, you sound like Wildcard."

Seras leaned back and softly laughed at that. "Regardless, I say he passes, but he doesn't go on missions unless one of us authorizes it. That ability is too good to lose this soon."

Sanders nodded in understanding, "I'm sure he'll be glad to hear it."

Her smile soon faded as she said, "Listen Sanders, don't tell Lord Hellsing or anyone else about it but make subtle preparations to go underground. I have a bad feeling…"

Sanders sighed as he finished his drink in one large, long sip. He then threw the glass from the roof, silently hoping that it would land on a telemarketer or some other form of annoyance. "I hate your bad feelings. They've always been right."

"Could be why I'm still alive."

"But you've dead longer than I've been alive."

"Oh shut up you crazy old man."


	18. Chapter 17

Once again, sorry for the insanely long wait on this chapter, only to reward you with something not all that exciting. I decided to start working on this again, at least for a few chapters until I reach this story's...well I won't give it away. Let's just say that the next few chapters are going to be interesting to say the least.

As for Dark Futures, I'm taking a break on it. Odds are that will get put on pause with I refine some ideas I came up with for a Full Metal Alchemist story, as well as a Star Ocean 3 Post-Ending story. I'm telling ya, college work only gets in the way of everyhting else.

Well, enough of that, enjoy.  
Rurouni

**----------  
**

**Chapter Seventeen: The Meeting of the Old Knights**

"You have to stand for something or else you'll fall to anything."

William Hellsing stood in his office, staring out the large window that was behind his desk, his face unreadable as he watched several cars pull up. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh, not relishing the meeting that soon to come. It had been quite some time since the last one was called, and even then he disliked it. _Though I suppose that this is the first time I've called us all to order. Even if my purpose is not similar to theirs..._ He thought to himself idly as he heard the door behind him open.

He didn't bother to turn around, for he already knew who it was. He opened his eyes as he heard Christopher's voice. "Lord Hellsing, the remainder of the guests have arrived."

He didn't turn around to face his old friend as he replied, "Thank you Christopher. Please show them to the conference room. I will be along shortly."

The man bowed his head and crossed his arm over his chest. "As you wish, Master William."

Lord Hellsing then heard a door opening and closing before he closed his eyes once again. He waited for a few moments before saying, "Victoria?"

"Yes, Lord Hellsing?" Came the voice of the female vampire as she materialized from the shadows of the corner of the room. Her voice contained none of the usual mockery or amusement. That in itself caused the man to open his eyes and turn to look at her. He was shocked to see her down on one knee with her head bowed. "What is it that you ask of me?"

"Draculina?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down on her. _What's with her? Where did the sudden respect come from?_

Sensing the man's thoughts, she raised her eyes to meet his. "You are doing something that none of your predecessors have done. Something that should have been done long ago but none of your ancestors had the fortitude to go through with it." She lowered her head and said, "The barrier of respect has been breached, I will follow you as I did your mother and her father before her, etcetera, etcetera." She rose from her kneeling position and looked towards the man. A thin smile covered her lips as she said, "Just so you know, this won't change too much. I still plan on giving you a hard time, but I will follow your orders without too much hassle from now on."

The man chuckled at that smile and shook his head slowly. "You'll never change. Though I suppose that's the best I can hope for." He said with a smile on his face. He then allowed the smile to vanish as he turned back to the window. "Victoria, am I taking the right path?"

Seras shrugged. "What I think is irrelevant. I have sworn to protect your family and this institution, and I intend to do so. Even if you make the whole Kingdom of England your enemy, I will side with you and fight for you until the end." She paused for a moment, the silence settling over the room with a sensation of cold dread. "The real question is do you think you're taking the right path?"

The man's visage tightened. "I want to believe so." He said as if unsure.

Seras then smiled, "Then you are. Walk your chosen path. You'll only know if it was the correct choice when your time has ended." She then turned around and walked towards the door. She paused at the door with her hand on the knob and said, "I know what you wanted to ask me, and yes I will do as we discussed earlier." She then smiled a wicked smile, "It ought to be fun."

William Hellsing couldn't help but chuckle at her tone as he heard her leave his office. _She's right. This is something that should have been done long ago. As the leader of the institution, it falls to me now. _ He walked towards his wall and removed a sword that was hanging there, as if waiting for it's owner to retrieve it. He paused a moment in his thinking before adding, _Well it's already been approved by the Queen so I can't really back out of it either way._ He smirked at that final thought as he turned and began walking towards the door, the sheathed sword in hand. As he closed the door behind him, he couldn't help it as one thought ran across his mind.

_Revenge is a dish best served wide and cold..._

-

"I am dreadfully sorry for holding you up gentlemen. Please accept my apologies." William Hellsing said as he entered the conference room. He bowed his head slightly as if waiting for judgement.

A gruff voice spoke up. "That is fine Sir Hellsing. It isn't a problem." Lord Hellsing raised his head to see an elder man sitting on the far side of the large circular table that was sitting in the conference room. His chair was pushed away from the table slightly and he was hunched forward, using a cane to support his upper body. Gray hair covered the old man's head, come down from his sideburns to form a thick beard on his face. He gazed at the leader of the Hellsing institution from behind a pair of spectacles with piercing green eyes, as if trying to read the younger man's mind.

William Hellsing allowed himself a small smile and said, "Thank you for that Sir Penwood. I appreciate your patience." He bowed his head once again before walking towards his seat on the opposite side of the round table. As Lord Hellsing sat down, he heard some mumbling to his right. "Is there a problem, Lord Blair, Sir Greeton?"

The first man to his right shook his head no. "No, it was nothing Sir Hellsing." Came the voice of Lord Lloyd Blair, his voice trying to cover up his earlier comment. Lord Hellsing merely smirked beneath his hands as he glared at the one in charge of most of England's mass media, the one appointed to control the flow of information within her majesty's borders.

"Enough stalling. You called this meeting; do not waste our time." Declared the man sitting next to him. William Hellsing showed no external displeasure with Sir Clifford Greeton, but inside he was seething at the one who dispatched orders to her majesty's secret services, including what remained of the Special Air Services and the even more tattered remains of England's intelligence agency, MI6. _Well, he'll get his in the end._

Before Lord Hellsing could say anything else, a woman on his right spoke up. "Gentlemen, I agree. I mean no disrespect Sir Hellsing, but we all do have other duties to attend to."

The old man across the round table nodded in agreement. "I agree with Lady Relance. Shall we begin?" This suggestion was met with nods and murmurs of agreement. "Then, let us begin."

As if rehearsed many times before, all those sitting at the table all reached for the swords that they had brought with them. With one quick movement, and a sound that echoed in the cavernous conference room, all the blades were withdrawn from their respective sheaths. As each member in attendance held the blade in front of them, their voices echoed as one,

"To hold true during the darkest times,

lest not abandon all that which is true,

for the glory of the realm,

and loyalty that shines as if from heaven itself,

to protect our land, our Queen, and our way of life."

With that, all those sitting at the table placed their blades on the table in front of them, with the edges all pointing towards the center of the table. Once again, this was down together as one motion, as if performed by actors with years of practice.

And with that, the Knights of the Round Table were called to order once more.

Lord Hellsing was the first to speak, his chin resting on his hands as he looked around the table. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I shall cut to the chase. As Lady Relance stated, I know you are all busy with your own duties. However, there has been some events recently that have the Hellsing Institution on edge."

A man to the left spoke up, "What do you mean Sir Hellsing?"

Lord Hellsing turned to Sir Jaethen, the man who was in charge of most of the police in England, and even some parts of English-controlled Ireland. "It mostly has to do with the increases of Freak activity."

"What else is new? The problem of Freaks hasn't changed since you took over the institution. I really don't see what the big problem is now." Sir Greeton stated obnoxiously, staring at Lord Hellsing for an answer.

Lord Hellsing merely glared at the man, causing Greeton to sink down in his chair slightly. Without removing his icy gaze from his fellow Knight, Lord Hellsing spoke up, "Christopher." With that, the lights dimmed until a projector was turned on. All eyes turned towards the holographic display that was in the center of the table, hovering above the table slightly. Being displayed there was a picture of a destroyed warehouse building. "Several weeks ago, Hellsing soldiers raided this location in the southern edge of London's port district. We were acting on intel that this was a probably Freak Chip manufacturing plant."

"Is this information accurate?" Sir Penwood asked suddenly.

Lord Hellsing nodded in response. "Yes. This was the first plant that we were able to raid and actually get something out of it other than dead bodies." That comment brought up an awkward silence as many of the member of the round table remembered the previous attempts to take the Freak chip factories. "We lost a good number of soldiers in the raid, and several of my specialists received heavy injuries."

"Was it a complete loss?"

"No. Overall, we didn't lose too many of our standing soldiers. One of our specialists was able to retrieve some of the data that was being stored there before the place became a war zone." Once again, a long silence as memories of failed raids flashed before Lord Hellsing's eyes. He opened his eyes and asked Christopher to move on. The screen flickered once before it changed from the warehouse building to a picture of a middle aged man, standing in a white coat with an strange expression on his face. "This, my comrades, is Dr. James Silveston. A graduate of Oxford University with doctorates degrees in both Bio-Physics and Bio-molecular engineering." Lord Hellsing paused for a few moments before adding, "And a traitor to England, and humanity as a whole."

Sir Penwood raised his voice again, tapping his cane against the ground as he leaned forward. "What do you mean by that?"

Lord Hellsing sighed heavily and said, "It means that he was one of the head researchers working at this facility. In fact, due to his efforts, the Freak chip as we know it has changed drastically. Next slide please," Lord Hellsing waited as the hologram flickered once more until it was showing the schematic of an a small circuit chip, "this is the result of his efforts."

"Is that...?" Lord Blair began to ask, his voice trailing off at the realization of what they were staring at.

"Indeed. That is the newest design of the Freak chip, or at least the prototype. We have no way of knowing if it actually has been tested yet." Lord Hellsing said from behind his hands.

"New design? What do you mean?"

"According to the recovered data, which includes the personal journals of Dr. Silveston, along with many of his colleagues, it is a new chip designed to eliminate many core weaknesses discovered in Freak vampires." He paused for a moment to lower his hands and then said, "This includes their weaknesses to light."

There were a few gasps as the information sunk in. "Good god in heaven..." One member said, trailing off as the schematic rested in the area above the table.

At this point the lights went back on and the floating hologram vanished as the projector was shut off. Lord Blair looked back to Lord Hellsing and demanded loudly, "What do you plan to do about this?"

There was an odd silence as if Lord Hellsing was considering the question. "Steps have been taken. We also know who were are dealing with and will act accordingly."

"So you know who is behind all of this?" Lady Relance asked, still somewhat shocked by what had been revealed earlier.

The leader of the Hellsing institution merely nodded in response, gesturing to his servant. With that movement, Christopher began to hand out a series of folders, one to each of the members of the round table. It was at this point that Lord Hellsing began to speak once more. "Yes, we know who our enemy is. She has been around for quite some time, almost as long as the Van Hellsing family itself. A pureblood vampire that has slipped beneath the radar for quite some time. The only real name we know of is 'Lysandra.' No family name, but a plethora of nicknames, including 'The Queen of Darkness', 'The Bloody Countess', 'Devil's Mistress', the list goes on." He paused for a moment to look at one of the members of the round table and frowned before continuing. "Based on the personal logs recovered, the researchers were hired by one of her subservient vampires in order to improve on the Freak chip design. The notes go as far as to lead us to believe that she and her compatriots are the ones who originally designed the devices as well."

"Is all this information accurate? It seems that much of this is far too detailed to come from personal logs of someone who wasn't even in the direct line of communication." One of the members to the right of Lord Hellsing asked, his voice skeptical as he continued to look over the files.

At this point, Christopher spoke up. "We have had an extensive file on her for quite some time. However, we have never been able to find her in order to purify her. As the Freak activity increased however, such case files were ignored to deal with the more immediate threats." He then bowed his head and stepped back, satisfied with what he had said.

Lord Hellsing nodded. "As he said, we have never been able to locate her. However, at this point I'm not sure that even if we did know of her location that we would have succeeded in eliminating her. In all likelihood, I would have requested aid from the Vatican to deal with her."

Sir Greeton scoffed at this, "Asking those Catholics who despise our nation for aid? Whatever happened to that trump card your institution was supposed to have?" He lowered the file back to the table and slammed his hand on the table. "What the hell is the purpose of your organization if it can't handle vampires without help from the Vatican?"

"Sir Greeton, you are out of line. Calm yourself." Ordered Lord Blair as he placed the file down himself. He then turned to Lord Hellsing and stated, "However rude he put it, he does have a point. Why are you not capable of eliminating her?"

Lord Hellsing rotated in his chair slightly to look at the man. "I never said we couldn't do it. Although, if we made the attempt, odds are that we would lose many soldiers. She is an ancient pureblood vampire, quite possibly the strongest nonhuman on the planet. She could probably tear apart a tank on her base-strength alone, let alone what she could do with the arcane arts." He then shifted his gaze to Sir Greeton and added, "As for our trump card, he has been sealed for over a century and I do not have the authority to release him."

There was a very long and disturbing silence after this comment. All the members of the round table looked at Lord Hellsing in fear, all of their minds thinking the same thoughts. Sir Penwood was the first to ask what everyone was wondering, "I was under the impression that your pet vampire was female. Since when was she sealed? You should've reported it to us."

Lord Hellsing allowed a small smirk to cover his face. _Well, there is no need for them to really know the truth._ "Miss Victoria is merely another one of our specialists. She herself states that she is far from being our trump card. She is a very valuable asset to us however."

"Wait, do you mean all this time, you've had another domesticated vampire locked up somewhere?" Lady Relance asked, her voice quite shaken at the revelation.

Lord Hellsing merely looked back at her in silence before saying, "I saw no reason to inform this council of his existence, nor would I save on an order from her majesty." There was a series of small outbursts at this. Many of the members of the round table yelled rude and unsavory remarks at the leader of the Hellsing institution. Lord Hellsing merely sat there, his mouth hidden by his folded hands as he waited for the outbursts to end. _If they are upset with this, what is soon to come will probably cause some heart attacks._

"Order! Order!" Came a loud booming voice. All eyes turned to Sir Penwood, surprised that such a loud voice could come from a such a frail looking old man. He had a cross look on his face that was directed towards William Hellsing. "Now listen here Sir Hellsing. You may think that no one here respects what you do or your methods, but that does not give you the right to hold information from us. Doing so goes against the wishes of the Royal Family, and somewhat defeats the purpose that this round table exists for. I demand you explain your reasoning immediately." As he made that last statement, he slammed his cane down once more to emphasize his point.

All eyes went back to Lord Hellsing who merely looked back with an expressionless stare. "First of all, I do not think that I am more important than you all in regards to these matters: I know it." This statement caused a few more outbursts which continued until Lord Hellsing held up his hand to silence everyone. "Now, before I continue I would like to inform everyone here of an incident that happened a few months ago."

"Incident? What incident?" Asked one of the members of the round table.

"Christopher?" Requested the man who stared back at the rest of the round table. Once again, the lights dimmed until the holographic projector turned on and displayed a picture of Seras Victoria, along with some text that included her vital statistics and a brief summary of her history. "A month or so ago, our databases were the victim of a computer hacker. Whoever it was, they were quite good. They were in and out of our system in less than twenty minutes, however it seems that they were only interested in one file that was on our systems. As you can see, it was the file on Seras Victoria, the Hellsing Institution's specialist in vampiric elimination." He paused for a moment before his voice became ice cold as he said, "The only people who even know this file exists are in this room, and Victoria herself."

The implications had been stated, and he had let the cat out of the bag. Several of the members began whispered to each other, softly speaking on the troubling information. Lord Hellsing allowed this to continue for a few minutes before he spoke up again. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please calm yourselves." After a moment the voices died down again and he continued, "The file itself contains no real useful information. However, like many of you have realized, its not the nature of the file itself, but rather who informed the hacker about it. But enough of that. This brings me to a more recent incident, one that has angered me far more than anything else that could have happened."

At this point, Lord Hellsing's eyes turned ice cold and even caused some of the members to shiver slightly at the hatred and irritation in those eyes. "A little less than a month ago, my wife and daughter were abducted by former soldiers of the British Special Air Service." At this he glared at Sir Greeton, causing the man to shrink back slightly. Without removing his gaze from the man, Lord Hellsing continued. "Once again, the fact that such a thing happens proves that there is a Judas in our midst. As you all know, the members of this council have all their information removed from public services. As far as the public knows, we do not exist."

"Good god..." one member of the table muttered under his breath before speaking to Sir Greeton. "Sir Greeton, what do you know of this? The SAS are under your jurisdiction, are they not?"

"I know nothing of this. Though I promise you that I will expend all my efforts into finding those who perpetrated this act. From there we can find who hired them." Greeton responded, quite angered that he was being blindsided this way.

"There is no need for that. My operatives have already dealt with the situation." This left a feeling of dread over everyone in the room.

"Did you send... the vampire?" Sir Penwood asked, quite sure he already knew the answer.

Without any hesitation Lord Hellsing replied. "Yes. She subdued all of the enemy and they are currently still being interrogated, at least the ones who aren't dead yet." He said that last line with such coldness that a few men in the room couldn't help but gulp at this man's wrath.

"Sir Hellsing, I realize that it was you family, but isn't that a bit of overkill?"

"I agree. Those men would be far more useful to us alive. We would be able to track down who sent them if we interrogated them."

"We did interrogate them. Victoria did it personally. He powers were very useful in... coercing them into giving the information we needed. Unfortunately they did not know anything of usefulness. Thus, they are rotting down in the dungeons of this place until I figure out what to do with them."

"So you trusted that... thing to handle their interrogation?" Lord Blair asked with contempt as he said the word 'thing'.

"He can a blood sucker from a lot more than the members of this council that have sworn to protect England it seems." Came a soft, mocking feminine voice from the corner of the room. All eyes turned towards the corner to see nothing at first, but soon afterwards a figure emerged from the shadowy darkness, walking towards where the leader of the Hellsing institution was sitting. She then looked at Blair and narrowed her eyes before saying, "Mind your tongue human. Keep in mind that I could slaughter everyone in this room if I so desired." If the glare itself didn't cause the man to shrink into his seat, the open threat did.

Lord Hellsing merely looked towards her and said, "You're late Victoria."

"What is the vampire doing here?" Sir Greeton demanded loudly, slamming his first against the table as he rose to his feet. Victoria shot the man a glare but he didn't back down, despite the fact that he knew what she could do to him if she really wanted to.

"She is here at my request. Now please control yourself Sir Greeton." Lord Hellsing deadpanned. The leader of the SAS and MI6 slowly recomposed himself and sat back in his seat. Lord Hellsing looked back to Seras and inwardly smiled. They had rehearsed this part for quite some time, it was time for the practice to pay off. "Seras, your report if you wouldn't mind."

She nodded, "Of course Lord Hellsing." She turned back to the table and began to speak, "As you may know, the Hellsing family was abducted a while back. I resolved the situation through my own methods, which allowed safe return for the hostages. After apprehending all the suspects, I began to interrogate them. Using my methods, I have determined that they do not know who hired them, rather that they merely used a contractor that they normally got jobs from. These men were mercs, not active soldiers. The fact that they were using normal weaponry rather than silver bullets is also proof that they had no idea what they were getting into."

"So then we are at a dead end then? No way to know who our enemy is." Responded one man.

Seras shook her head. "During our last raid, as I'm sure Lord Hellsing has informed you, we acquired quite a bit of... interesting data to say the least."

Lord Hellsing nodded his assent before speaking again, "Yes. As I mentioned, it included the research data on the chips, as well as personal logs of the researchers. In one of the logs is the name of the one who funded this research. That man is one of the men at this table. We have our Judas named by our enemy itself." At this point, Lord Hellsing glared towards one man to his left. His eyes narrowed, "Sir Greeton, I have no idea what they offered you, or threatened you with. Normally I would just treat you as one who betrayed the trust of the Royal Family and as a traitor to England. But the second you put my family at risk, was the point in which there is no hope of salvation for you, for you shall not leave this place alive."

Sir Greeton glared at Lord Hellsing and stood up. "This is an outrage! How dare you call my loyalty to England into question on some data you can't prove isn't falsified!" He slammed his hand against the table roughly and yelled, "I have served this country as part of this council for more than thirty years. Why would I change that after so long?"

Lord Hellsing's expression of hatred never changed. "I do not know, nor do I care. However, we shall find out if you speak the truth soon enough." He then looked to Seras. "Victoria."

Seras nodded at the order and immediately pulled out the Jackal from her inner holster and pointed directly at Sir Greeton. "Move away from the table now." She ordered, her finger idly caressing the trigger of the massive gun.

"This is an outrage! You can't do this!" Demanded Sir Greeton.

"Take two steps back or I will blast your head off human." Seras said in an icy cold voice. The man gulped and did as he was told, his hands raised slightly as if surrendering. Seras walked around the table until she was right in front of the man, her ruby irises chilling him to the bone.

At this point Sir Penwood spoke up, "Sir Hellsing, this is unacceptable. He has a good point. You are not judge, jury, and executioner here!"

Lord Hellsing merely looked back at Sir Penwood and stated, "No, I am neither the jury or the executioner. I am however the judge." He then looked back to Seras and asked, "Well? Is he the one?"

Seras merely nodded her head. "Oh yes. He is a fool and cannot shield his thoughts in the slightest, as we suspected." She raised and eyebrow and snarled once before hitting the man over the head with the butt of the pistol, knocking him to the ground. "For something as low as money even! Even as a human, that's just too low!"

Lord Hellsing nodded before turning back to the rest of the round table. "What is the jury's verdict? Keep in mind that Victoria has severed England longer than some of us combined, and as a pureblood vampire she can read the thoughts of humans."

Sir Greeton groaned from the floor and said loudly, "How can you trust one that your organization is sworn to destroy?"

Seras kicked him in the ribs, only hard enough to injure the man but Lord Hellsing he could've sworn he heard something break. "You dare call my loyalty into question human? Let's not forget that if it wasn't for the efforts of myself and the others of the Hellsing institution that we would've been overrun by Freak vampires well before you were even born scum." Her anger was evident and once again those red eyes were drilling into the man's back, as if trying to kill by only looking at him.

Lord Hellsing spoke up, "Don't kill him Seras. We need to interrogate him first. Then I'll let you do as you please."

She scowled before withdrawing her gun and replacing back in her holster. "Don't insult me sir. I wouldn't stoop so low as to drink the blood of a maggot. Perhaps I'll merely send his severed head to our enemy as a sign that the battle is joined."

"That is enough! This has gone far enough Sir Hellsing!" Lady Relance cried out.

Lord Hellsing merely regarded the woman with idle annoyance. "Oh? And why is that? We're merely disposing of a threat to England." He then allowed a small smirk to cross his face. "Well if you don't like this bit of news, you'll probably hate the next object of discussion today."

Sir Penwood raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

Lord Hellsing lowered his hands and rose to his feet. "As of today, the Hellsing institution is no longer part of the round table. We shall have complete authority over dealing with nonhumans in any way we please. And any those that we find in conspiracy with England's nonhuman enemies shall be executed in the name of the Royal Family."

There were several outbursts from the members of the round table, except for Greeton who was still on the ground, grabbing his side in great pain. "That's absurd. You have no right!"

Lord Hellsing raised his voice. "I have every right! Not only do I have the right, I have the permission and the blessings of the Queen herself!" At this point he reached into a folder that had been in front of him and withdrew a piece of parchment that bore the seal of the Royal Family. The room went quiet with shock for a long period of time before Lord Hellsing spoke again. "This meeting is adjourned. All of you with the exception of Sir Greeton, or rather Mr. Greeton, as the Queen has assured me that he has been stripped of his title, will leave this place. If you are still within the boundaries of this property in thirty minutes, I will send Victoria here to hunt you down. Good day Gentlemen." He then turned to Victoria and said, "Take him to a holding cell and find out what he knows."

Seras merely grinned as she lifted the man by the back of his neck with one hand. "As you wish sir." She then twisted his arm behind him in a way to cause great pain before she whispered an order to walk in his eye.

The members of the round table quickly scurried out, anxious to leave the Hellsing manor, especially with his last threat still hanging in the air. Sir Penwood was the last to leave, pausing as he passed Lord Hellsing in order to say, "This is a foolish move William."

Lord Hellsing merely smirked. "I have to disagree with you Sir Penwood. This is something that should have been done long ago, merely none of my predecessors had the fortitude to do so." He paused for a moment to register the old man's expression. "It is nothing personal. And fear not, for this shall not weaken our assault on the undead."

Sir Penwood sighed and shook his head. "You place too much trust in the vampire, and apparently the Queen places too much trust in you."

Lord Hellsing glared at him before saying, "Victoria is sword to protect my family; she has done so flawlessly for over a century. Her origins mean nothing to me. The ends justifies the means. As for having the Queen's trust, I'd like to think I have it for good reason.." He paused for a moment before saying, "Good day sir." This conversation was over as far as Lord Hellsing was concerned.

He heard the old man leave and realized that he was alone. He slowly sat down in his chair and grabbed his forehead as if having a large headache. _This is far too risky. I don't even think Flynn would make a bet like this._

-

Later on, Lord Hellsing was waiting in his office for Victoria to appear with her report on her interrogation of the prisoner. She didn't disappoint him, bringing a small packet of information that she had gotten out of the soon to be dead Mr. Greeton. "I suppose this is everything?" He asked as she handed the papers to him.

Seras nodded, "Well, everything of worth that we didn't already know." She sighed and scratched the back of her head, "You were probably right earlier. If we try to take her down now we'll end up losing a lot of soldiers. That plan of hers doesn't give us much time to act though."

"This is true. Though we must act; we have no time left to hesitate."

"There may be another option."

He shook his head, "No. I don't have the authority to unseal him. The Queen refuses to allow it. His reputation precedes him it seems."

Seras merely chuckled. "I didn't mean him. I meant one you spoke of before, during the round table meeting."

He raised an eyebrow and dropped the papers on his desk when he realized her meaning. "You can't be serious..."

Seras merely smirked at him. "Don't suppose I ever mentioned this, but I used to be Catholic before joining Hellsing." She chuckled a bit before saying with a strange smile that chilled him to the bone, "It's been a long time since I've been to church."


	19. Chapter 18

Sorry for the delay folks. I meant to get this out to you last night but I was only about 3/4 finished with it and I was slightly drunk, well more like trashed out of my mind. Eh, shit happens. Here's the next chapter. I like how it turned out, and we reached to a climax soon, just to warn you now.  
Rurouni

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**  
Chapter Eighteen: Unholy Alliance**

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, yet he shall always remain my enemy."

The dampness of the air seemed to float around him, causing him to shiver slightly as he stood there next to his companion. _Winter will be here soon, I should've brought a coat...._ He thought idly to himself as he found himself reaching into his pocket to withdraw a pack of cigarettes and his lighter. He withdrew one cigarette and replaced the pack back in his pocket, knowing fully well what his companion's response would be if he offered him one. He then lit the cigarette before replacing the lighter in his pocket before taking a long drag off of the 'cancer-stick', as his companion liked to refer to them as.

He held the cigarette with one hand as he scanned his surroundings with a critical eye. They had arrived at the isolated area several minutes ago and it seemed that the only thing in site was an old farmhouse, which from the looks of it, had fallen into disrepair. The two were standing underneath a tree on the outskirts, looking over the location wearily, as if expecting someone to appear from the shadows to attack them.

He grabbed his head in annoyance as he realized just who exactly they were dealing with and realized that she would probably do such of thing... if they angered her. It was at this that his companion spoke, his voice betraying nothing but anyone could tell he was slightly uneasy by the way he was holding himself up. "Your eminence, why are we here?"

The elder man merely grabbed the brim of his nose and rubbed it, feeling a small migraine coming on. "Father Perigrin, that is something that I wish I knew fully. I still don't understand how this happened..." He said, trailing off slightly as he thought back to the incident that had happened a few days ago in the heart of the holy city itself.

-

It had just been another day in the life of Cardinal Fabrillia. As one of the higher ranking members of the internal government that ran Vatican City, as well as having a large hand in how Catholicism was preached or treated, he knew of the existence of impure souls, often referred to as vampires, werewolves, monsters, nonhumans, Nosferatu, etcetera. However, it was something that was always in the background, not for him to worry about. The soldiers of the Pope, the enigmatic section thirteen, were the only who were assigned to deal with such threats.

So in turn, he merely ignored the hovering threat that always threatened to consume the people of the world. He would often offer additional prayers other than his normal ones in order to possible facilitate some of the Lord's grace upon those tortured souls.

While a higher ranking Cardinal, his actual duties were not all that impressive. More often than not, he found himself wandering either the Sistine Chapel, or St. Peter's Cathedral itself. He was always in awe of the Church's glory, despite the flaws people often tried to point out to him.

It was one such day that he was in St. Peter's Cathedral when he noticed someone enter through the main hall of the Cathdral. He could easily tell that it was a woman, and quite a beautiful one at that. Despite his oaths of chastity that he made so long ago, he could easily discern beauty, and the one who had just walked in seemed to be a perfect example of it. He idly mused that eyes would be lovely if she removed the dark sunglasses that she had on over her eyes. He snapped out of his musings as he watched her enter one of the confession booths.

He sighed at this. The woman was obviously a tourist, as they were quite common in the Holy See these days. He always found it strange that so many people would come here just to confess their sins. _It is not as if they 'need' to come here to do it. The Lord will take the confession as long as the soul is pure; the place matters not._ Noticing one of the priests slowly walking towards the booth he smiled a bit before walking over slowly.

"Father Armellino." He said calmly as the priest finally noticed his presence. Fabrillia has always liked the young italian man who had come to study in the Holy City, his youth and energy was refreshing, especially to the older Cardinals, Bishops, and Priests.

"Your eminence, it is always a pleasure." The younger man said, bowing his head in respect to his elder.

The old man merely chuckled and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Would you mind if I took this confession? It has been such a long time since I have actively helped one of the Lord's lambs."

The younger man gave a smile, "Please do your eminence. There is something I must take care of anyway." He then bowed his head again slightly before leaving the older man to deal with the confession. Cardinal Fabrillia merely smiled as he watching the young man leave before entering the other side of the confession booth.

He slid the panel over the wiring to the side to reveal to the woman that someone was there. He spoke in a calm, even tone, as if practiced for many years. "Let your soul be at peace child, for you are in the house of the Lord. Speak now, and now that your sins may be forgiven if you believe in the Lord's mercy."

There was a long pause at which the Cardinal was tempted try and peer through the wire-mesh that separated the two booths before he heard a small chuckle. "Forgive me sir, but I doubt my sins can be forgiven so easily. Besides, my soul has been gone for far too long." She had a soft voice, as if not comfortable with her surroundings. Fabrillia could not blame her, as many who took to confession for the first time often felt the same way.

"Nonsense child. Although you yourself may not believe it, your soul is merely buried beneath the abyss of yourself. Souls do not vanish, even when you die. They merely join him at his side." He said with a hint of gentleness, as if he were speaking to a small child.

She chuckled at that a bit before saying, "Regardless Cardinal Fabrillia, my hands are too stained with sin to ever join the ranks of Heaven." Fabrillia opened his eyes with a start at hearing his own name but before he could say anything or move at all, she said in an ice-cold voice. "Don't move human. This weapon is capable of blowing your head off, even with this flimsy barrier in the way."

He shivered at her voice before clearing his throat and asking, "So, you know my name then? I take it that you didn't come here to confess..." He began, trailing off as he idly wondered if this woman would kill him. Oddly though, he felt no fear. _If I die then I merely shall go to heaven. I only hoped that I guided his lambs to the best of my ability._

Her laughter was soft but it echoed in his mind. "Fear not Cardinal Fabrillia, I shall not harm you, lest you do something foolish. Come to the grate and I will explain why I am here." He nodded to himself as he shifted forward so that he could peer through the grate with ease. He saw the woman he had seen outside but now her sunglasses had been removed. He found himself gaping as he stared into crimson irises. He cringed slightly as she stared back, feeling as if she could see through him all the way to his soul.

He then forced himself to ask, "How did you get in here? One of your kind shouldn't be able to enter this sacred territory." He found himself feeling fear, but not for himself. _A vampire who is immune to the power of the Lord... no, this must be some trick._

"This is no trick human. As for knowing what I am, that makes this easier." She stated, now revealing a large black pistol being aimed at his head through the mesh. "It is as you said, I am not here for confession, although the Lord knows I need it."

"Confession is good for the soul." He said simply as a reply as he continued to look at her eyes, as if wondering if she really was what she claimed to be. Sensing his disbelief, she took her free hand and placed it in the Holy water that was in a small bowl near the side of the confessional booth. He cringed slightly when he heard a burning sound and saw her features contort slightly. After a moment the sound stopped and she held her free hand up for him to see. It bore burn marks from the Holy water, confirming what she was. "So what does a being of darkness have to say to me? Trying to convert to the devil's deeds? Well it won't work you lower daemon!" He whispered harshly.

She merely turned a grin and replied, "All you Catholics use the same insults. Regardless, I'm not here to do anything to you. I just need you to deliver a message."

The elder man raised an eyebrow, either amused or interested. "Entailing what, demon?"

She shrugged her shoulders before lowering her gun. "You show no fear. That's commendable, your eminence." Her hand grabbed the mesh and slowly pulled it off the open area. She slid a white envelope through the bent wiring that landed on his lap. "I need you do deliver that to the leader of section thirteen, Father Lukas Vinelli."

The elder man bent down slightly to pick up the envelope, cringing slightly as he felt something crack in his back. "You know, you could've just mailed it to him." He said with a hint of amusement.

Seras merely chuckled back and said, "Nah, knowing the post office, he'd never get it. Besides, I don't think his mailing address is listed." The humor vanished from her face and she spoke again, "This is very serious. My taking the risk to come here should prove that to you, and its taking a lot of my power just to remain here."

"Why should I bother? It's slightly suspicious of me to become a delivery boy for a Nosferatu."

Seras merely leaned back in the confessional. "Ask Vinelli that. If you describe what I look like, he'll probably freeze up like a ghost. Just give that to him and say it's from an old enemy. He'll probably look at you strange, but if tell 'em what I look like, he being practically dying to get that message."

"....Alright. I'll see what I can do." He said as he tucked the message into his robes.

"The Royal Protestant Knights thank you, your eminence. Now I shall take my leave." She paused for a moment before adding, "Please add a prayer or two for that soul that left me when I died. Hopefully its in Heaven."

Before he looked up to respond she had vanished, leaving him wondering if it had been a strange daydream. Feeling the envelope in his robes, he frowned knowing full well that it had happened. _It appears that Father Venelli has things to answer to._

-

"Matthew, is this a foolish move?" Cardinal Lukas Venelli asked as he continued to puff on the cigarette in his hand. He noticed the twitch in his companion's eyes when he noticed the cigarette in his superior's hand and sighed slightly. _I know I shouldn't be smoking my lad, especially in my position, but I've seen far too many things. Both from this world and the underworld._

"I can not tell you that, your eminence. However, this could be a trap." Perigrin responded, his mind thinking back to his reaction when the leader of section thirteen had recalled him in order to escort him to meet with... that demoness. He also had no idea what had been in the message received by his leader, but he was more concerned with Victoria's presence so close to the Holy See. _Why is she here? This is far out of Hellsing's territory, and its suicide for those from the abyss to venture this close to the Holy City._ Of course, Perigrin had no idea that the vampire had already been in the heart of the Holy See. Much to her displeasure and body-racking pain that she experience as soon as the protections she had set up on herself had faded.

"Very true, but if the situation is as bad as she claims it is in England, she wouldn't take the risk of turning us into Hellsing's enemy. If anything, I'd wager she's here on command from her vampire-loving employer to request our aid." Venelli said as he dropped the cigarette down on the ground and rubbed it out with his shoe. "Isn't that right Victoria?" He asked, not turning around to face his guest.

Perigrin responded in kind, drawing one of his swords and his pistol, both raised ready to dispatch the woman back to hell. Though it did bother him that he didn't sense her presence before Father Venelli did. That very fact sent a shiver through his spine. _As expected as one of the greatest vampire hunters that the church has ever seen. Both of us were almost killed by this woman, and he lacks my regenerative abilities._

At the bottom of the small hill that the two Catholics stood upon, waited Seras Victoria and another man. Seeing the sight of the one who bested him, Perigrin fired his pistol at Seras. The bullet would've struck her directly between the eyes if it had not been for the man who was standing next to her. In one fluid movement, the man had swung a sheathed sword upwards, hitting the bullet with the flat side of the blade, redirecting the bullet's path so that it flew past her head. Displeased with the outcome, Perigrin dashed forward, his hand tightening its grip on his blade as he charged forth to deal a deathblow to the woman.

However, his strike was once again stopped by the other man's sword. The man unsheathed his blade as Perigrin swung, the speed surprising the Iscariot as the silver katana intercepted his holy sword. Seeing a new enemy who had some skill, Perigrin dashed back a few steps and readied himself again and took a glance at this new opponent for the first time. The man wore a dark trenchcoat and Perigrin watched in mild interest as the man resheathed the katana, but got into a ready stance as he held the katana and it's sheath in his left, his right hand looming dangerously close the handle of the silver blade. He had a toothpick in his mouth that he shifted from one side to the other. He had distinct oriental qualities, idly causing the Iscariot to wonder where they had recruited the man from.

Victoria smirked and said, "Although that wasn't necessary, thank you for that." Her joking tone did not do much to settle the hostile tension between the two swordsman. The next time she spoke, Victoria's voice broke through the tension with ease, "Stand down Jin." She ordered. The man nodded once before falling into a relaxed position and removing his right hand from a ready position. She then turned back to the two on the hill and called out, "Your eminence, call off your dog."

"Matthew, stand down... For now." He said gently, causing the Iscariot to blink before lowering his weapons and retreating back more towards his leader. He didn't dare put them away, at least not around this enemy. So he merely remained silent as his leader took a few steps forward and spoke up again, "It seems that we meet again, you abomination."

She merely shrugged with a smirk on her face. "Charming as ever Venelli. It's probably a good thing you became a priest. With that attitude you would've been single your whole life anyway." At this point she finally gave the Iscariot 'dog' a look over and recognition flashed into her eyes. "Ah, Father Perigrin. It's good to see you again, I see you have recovered from your wounds, not that I wouldn't expect otherwise. You are a Knight of the Church Paladin after all."

Perigrin flinched slightly at her comment, tightening his grasp on his sword. He didn't dare look at his superior, knowing full well that he was shooting a dirty glare. "He caused you trouble then. I apologize for his rash actions, even though he had orders to not engage you in any way."

Seras shrugged, "Don't worry about it, he was just doing his job. Said so himself." She chuckled a bit before losing her amused countenance. "But really, you know the reason I'm here."

Venelli nodded in understanding. "Yes, although I find it very strange for Hellsing to make such a request now of all times."

"The times have changed your eminence. Drastic measures call for drastic actions." She paused for a moment before speaking up again, "What I want to know is how the hell did you incompetents lose the Devil's bane?" Her expression and tone of voice showed that she was expecting an answer, even if they didn't want to give it to her.

Perigrin raised an eyebrow at the mention of that artifact. The Devil's bane was an old dark relic that had been confined deep within the catacombs of Vatican city for far longer than anyone ever truly knew. It was an oddly shaped piece of flesh, of what had never been determined, that never decayed for some reason. It generated a plethora of dark, arcane energies that required one of the strongest sealing wards to be created just in order to keep the power from leaking out. It actually became one of the key components for developing the holy magic that those of Iscariot used. As far as Perigrin knew, it was still locked up behind several magic seals and numerous locks and barriers.

Venelli pulled another cigarette out and lit it, causing Seras to smirk slightly for some reason. "It has been missing for at least a decade. No one knew what happened with it, but no member of the dark could've broken through the wards. Odds are, we had a unholy traitor who retrieved the artifact for his master. Once we found out who it was, rest assured, he was dealt the punishment of god."

"Why the hell did you not inform us of such a thing?" Seras yelled at the top of her lungs. "The disappearance of such a strong source of dark power is not something that should be concealed from those in the same business, despite the politics involved." She then pointed at Venelli and said, "Your boss may not like us, or our methods, but we have the same goal. That was a foolish move Lukas." She grabbed her head in annoyance and began tapping her foot as well, "I bet you didn't even inform the Buddhist sects either, did you?" His silence was her only answer, causing her to stomp her foot and curse loudly.

"It was unnecessary to inform you. Even if you knew, what could you do about it?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm in his cold voice. He then shook his head and said, "Enough complaining soulless one, just tell me what it is you want."

She stopped short and looked at the leader of section thirteen as if she had misheard him. "I beg your pardon?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"You heard me correctly, demoness."

She exchanged a glance with her silent companion before returning her gaze towards the man. "You did read that message, didn't you?"

Venelli reached into his pocket at this moment and withdrew a piece of paper. "Greetings Lukas Venelli, honorable leader of Iscariot. You know who I am so I will make this brief, we must meet and discuss a possible alliance for an upcoming strike in England. Meet me on the 15th at midnight at..." Seras merely listened in silence as he rambled off the remainder of the letter. He then lowered the paper and said, "Like I asked before, what do you want?"

"What part of alliance did you not understand you Italian idiot?" Seras asked with an edge to her voice. She noticed both Perigrin and Jin tensed at her voice, Jin merely reacting more to Perigrin's movements than what she had actually said. She knew far too well that he didn't care what she did.

Venelli merely frowned as he tore the letter up in front of Seras, causing her brow to narrow as she glared at him. He merely glared back and said, "I understand the term, but you should know that as long as you exist there can be no alliance between Iscariot and Hellsing. Besides, why, after so long, would Hellsing want an alliance now?"

Seras merely grit her teeth and spoke in a cold but subdued manner. "The circumstances have changed. I have come on request of Lord William Hellsing, current head of the Hellsing institution, as well as the Queen of England herself." She then allowed herself to take a shot at the dog of the Pope. "We wouldn't even bother if it wasn't for the fact that the enemy has one of the oldest relics of darkness to exist in her possession; one that you were trusted to guard and you have failed at that."

Perigrin spoke up at this point, "You are a fool Seras Victoria. You should have known better than to stain the holy ground of the Lord."

Seras looked to him and said, "Stay quiet boy. This does not concern you. I am merely discussing your organization's failures." The coldness at which she said this silenced Perigrin who bore a look of utter hate and frustration on his face. She then looked back to Venelli, "The Devil's bane is currently in the hands in one of the oldest vampires, one who does not share my... vision of coexistence with humans. She is planning something that will thrust England back into the dark ages."

"Ah yes, the Dark Countess Lysandra, the first wife of Dracula. We have heard rumors of her movements in England but have been unable to turn anything up." Venelli said as he pulled out another cigarette. He then paused and lowered the unlit cigarette. "You can't be serious... she is the one who has it?" Seras nodded, pleased that he now fully understood the problem. "God save us all."

"We don't have enough time to wait for your Lord's grace Venelli. The details of her plan are still sketchy to us, but they revolve around some prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Perigrin asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

Seras scratched her head, "Yeah, we're still not sure on what it entails. We have people researching it right now but by the time I left England we were still turning up empty."

"What prophecy is it? There are many arcane prophecies, but I don't know many revolving around the Devil's bane." Venlli asked calmly as he raised his cigarette again and lit it.

Seras shrugged. "It's not pronounceable in a human tongue. I can barely manage it and it sounds like some kind of growl." Venelli froze at that statement, dropping his lit cigarette to the ground. Seras picked up on this and raised an eyebrow. He wasn't paying attention however, lost within his own thoughts on what Victoria had said. "You know of it?" She asked, wondering what could get the leader of section thirteen to react in such a way.

He shakily bent down and picked up his cigarette, brushing off the unlit end and replacing it in his mouth and took a drag. "Perhaps, but I doubt even an ancient vampire like Lysandra would dare invoke it. Lysandra may be powerful, but she cannot be that foolish for that prophecy. There are others I could look into for you." He then turned and said, "How many of ours do you require?"

She raised an eyebrow at that. "So you agree to a temporary alliance."

He nodded. "The Devil's bane is our responsibility. Our organizations may not always see eye to eye but the end result of both our groups, as you said, is the same. I am willing to dispatch a group of Iscariot Knights if you request it."

Pergrin looked to his leader and cried out, "Your eminence, you can't be serious!"

"Be silent, Matthew Robert Perigrin, Knight of the Chuch Paladin." Came the response from his leader. The voice was cold and detached, as if he was hearing it through a telephone.

Seras nodded in understanding. "Then on behalf of the Hellsing institution, and the royal crown of England, I ask for the aid of the Catholic church and Iscariot." She then grinned, "Once Lysandra has been dealt with and the Devil's bane is locked up in the basement of the Vatican once again, feel free to try to kill me again. I must ask that you wait for now however."

Lukas Venelli sighed and nodded his head once. "It shall be done. When do you plan to head back to England?"

"Tonight. Our jet is leaving in three hours." Seras responded.

"I see. Matthew," Venelli said, turning to his soldier, "You shall accompany them back to England in order to do an assessment of the full situation. If the situation is as serious as Hellsing believes, then I want your full opinion once you have seen the whole picture in England. You are to fully cooperate with the Hellsing institution for now."

"Understood, your eminence. I shall report back as soon as possible." Perigrin said immediately, bowing his head slightly to his leader.

Venelli turned back to Victoria, "I will begin recalling members of the order. When I receive his report, I will decide how many of our own to send. Will that be satisfactory?"

Seras nodded. "That's the best I can hope for now. Though I will admit this to you, we are short on Iscariot-level operatives right now. We have a decent amount of normal human soldiers, but I'm afraid the most use they will provide is that of distraction. And it seems like that within Hellsing I am the only one capable of handling Lysandra, and even then I'm not sure that I can do it."

"She is an ancient; it will be difficult, even for you." Venelli agreed, dropping his cigarette to the ground and rubbing it out with his shoe. He turned to his companion and said, "Father Perigrin, go."

"Yes, your eminence." Perigrin said with a small bow as he holstered his weapons. He walked towards the two from Hellsing and met them at the bottom of the hill. "Let's go bloodsucker. I have no desire to remain around you all that long."

Seras merely chuckled as she turned and began walking beside him as they walked back towards the car that Seras and Jin had ditched earlier. "And here I thought you would enjoy the company of a beautiful woman. Perhaps I'm too vain after all." She said with a laugh as she slapped him on the back.

Perigrin had to fight in order to restrain from hitting her, though his eyebrow did twitch in a very dangerous way. "I'm going to kill you one day you realize."

"Can't kill what's already dead father." She said with a laugh and a small grin as she placed a pair of purple sunglasses over her eyes, causing his eyebrow to twitch again.

-

"This was not a planned move." A soft feminine voice echoed out in the shadowy room. The other two occupants shuddered slightly as the indifferent tone used in the voice.

"No, my master. You have my apologies for not killing her sooner." Came Lorenz's voice in the dark room.

"Do not worry about it Lorenz. Besides, her role is still yet to complete in this tale. You have done nothing wrong."

"But the Vatican getting involved... that is not part of your original scenario mistress." Came the voice of Lorenz's partner, the vampire Kylie. She was idly twirling one of his six shooters in her right hand as she waited for her master to respond.

"This is true my dear Kylie, but it is of no consequence. Anything they do now shall be far too late."

"Then...." Lorenz began, eyes widening slightly.

"Yes Lorenz, it is time to initiate the next phase in the plan. They will come like moths to the flame. It shall soon be our time."

"Yes, my master." Came the voices of the two subservient vampires as one.

-

Seras leaned back in her seat on the plane, her eyes closed slightly as if resting. Father Perigrin merely watched her in slight curiosity and mistrust. His eyes soon traveled over to where the other operative from Hellsing was sitting. The man known only as Jin was sitting on the ground, hunched forward slightly as he leaned back against the wall of the plane's passenger cabin. His sword was propped up against his shoulder and his head was lowered slightly and his eyes closed. The ever-present toothpick was sticking out the right side of his mouth, giving the man the air that he didn't really care about anything.

Perigrin did not know what to make of this man. It was obvious that he was only a human, but it was also obvious that he was not to be underestimated. The way he had defended Victoria against Perigrin's attacks was evidence of that. However, there were two things that really bothered Perigrin. One was that the man had not spoken the entire time that he had been in their company. The odd oriental man had remained dead silent the entire time, but Perigrin knew that he would be able to spring to action at a millisecond's notice.

The other thing was the presence that the man gave off. Or rather, the lack of one. It seemed like such a strange thing to worry about but it bothered Perigrin deeply. He had always been able to sense the emotions of others around him, and usually it was that ability that made him able to sense when others were around, especially if they had feelings of rage, hatred, or even bloodlust. With this swordsman however, he sensed nothing. It was as if he wasn't even there; that in itself worried Perigrin. _Hellsing has human soldiers of this quality?_

As if sensing the man's discomfort, Victoria spoke up without opening her eyes. "He's one of our special operatives. His talents were needed for this mission, so he is here. He's usually in Ireland keeping you Iscariots from infringing on our territory."

Perigrin scoffed. "You don't seem the type to need help to annoy us at the Vatican. It was just a messenger service, wasn't it?"

Seras shrugged. "Do you honestly think that someone like myself can just walk into one of the most warded places on this planet without some help?" She emphasized her point by bending forward and coughing wildly into her hands. When she removed her gloved hands from her mouth, he noticed the patches of blood on her palms.

He raised an eyebrow at this, "So you really did enter the Holy City..." He then looked to Jin who had remained indifferent to the conversation. It appeared as if he was sleeping but they both knew better. "So I'm guessing he's some type of warding specialist?" Perigrin asked.

Seras nodded with a shrug. "Something like that. He's also one of our best close-quarters combat specialists, and most Iscariots used bladed weapons so I figured he would be the best choice if negotiations broke down." She paused for a moment before adding, "As for the presence that doesn't exist... I don't know what to tell ya. The guy is damn good, even fools my senses unless I concentrate."

Perigrin turned to Jin and asked, "How do you do it?"

Jin merely opened his eyes and looked at the Iscariot as if he was an idiot. Seras spoke for Jin at this point, "He's mute Father Perigrin. He can't answer you."

At this point a loud jarring ring broke the conversation. Jin's hand reached into his pocket and withdrew a cellular phone. Perigrin raised an eyebrow at this in confusion, _Why would a deaf man need a cell-phone?_ He watched as the man opened the phone and held it to his ear. There was an awkward moment of silence before the man's eyes widened in shock, showing some sort of expression for the first time since Perigrin had seen the man. Jin quickly lowered the phone and threw it towards Victoria as if he was throwing a grenade away. Victoria caught the phone with a questioning eyebrow before raising it to her own ear.

Now, Perigrin didn't know what to expect at this point, but he wasn't not expecting Victoria to snarl angrily into the phone after a few moments. "What do you mean?" She yelled at the top of her lungs as she stood up, causing Perigrin to flinch slightly as his ears rang at the woman's voice. She ignored his displeasure, obviously not giving a damn in as she continued to yell. "How the hell did that happen? What the fuck were you doing instead of your assignment Wildcard?"

There was some mumbling over the other end to which Victoria's eyes narrowed and she said very loudly, "Are you certain? Are you certain it was one of them?" Seras fought to keep her grip from utterly crushing the phone as she took a few deep breaths. She then said very coldly and calmly, "I want a full lock down on the institution. I want the Hellsings under full watch. Do not leave their side and do not allow them to leave until we return. Wildcard, put Christopher on the line." She waited a moment before snarling again, "Then fucking go get him you idiot!"

Sensing something big had just happened, Perigrin asked, "What's wrong?"

Seras held up one finger, silencing him completely as he took note of her agitated features. "Christopher? Listen up, I want you to recall all Division S members with the exception of Sanders. Take them off their previous assignments and recall them back to the manor immediately!" Another pause before she yelled again, "Don't give me that. We have bigger problems right now! Just call them back immediately! If that blood sucking bitch wants a war: then we're gonna fucking give her one! We'll be back in two hours time." She then crushed the phone in her hand in anger. Perigrin merely watched with interest, _I suppose that is one way to hang up._

"So what happened?" He asked, noticing that she seemed to be caught between a mix of anger, disbelief and shock.

She looked at him slowly before looking to the other Hellsing operative. Jin merely looked back impassively before nodding his approval. Seras sighed and sat back down, placing her hands on the side of her head as if annoyed. "It seems like William Hellsing, the 23rd generation leader of the Hellsing institution, is dead."


	20. Chapter 19

Figured I'd try to update this one. This one should reach a damn good climax in a few chaptersAfter that, I'll try to work on Dark Futures over Winter break.   
Feel free to take a look at the Star Ocean fics I wrote in the past couple of weeks. Probably will do one or two more of those short stories before compiling them into one story with multiple chapters.   
Eh, enough talking. Here it is.**   
**

**Chapter Nineteen: As the Cloak of Safety Falls**

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

Xavier leaned against the wall inside the office of the late Lord William Hellsing. His arms were crossed and his head fell forward slightly with his eyes closed. He was dreading what was coming, especially since he remembered the anger in Seras Victoria's voice. He had never heard her that angry before, and quite frankly it even scared the shit out of him, even with his lapses of sanity from time to time.

But that was not the only reason he was uncomfortable in the office. The other thing that bothered him were the two people that were sitting in a chair near Lord Hellsing's desk. Elena Hellsing sat in silence in the padded office chair, her daughter sleeping on her lap, having already cried herself to sleep. Xavier had been the one to break the news to the Hellsings when the order for a lock-down came down from Victoria. The look of disbelief and grief that had covered Elena Hellsing's face still flashed through his mind but he ruthlessly forced it down. _It's not your fault. Even Victoria wouldn't have been able to stop a rocket propelled grenade._

He looked up as he heard the door to the office open and opened his eyes. He blinked once at seeing Seras walk in, talking to Christopher as if making a report. Following behind the two was one familiar face, and one that Xavier did not recognize. The Japanese man nodded once to Xavier who only let a small smirk to cover his face as a greeting. The other man was obviously not from Hellsing, causing Xavier to tense up slightly. _Must be from Iscariot..._

Seras looked away from Christopher as the door closed behind them. She saw Elena Hellsing look up towards her, a mixture of anger, resentment, grief, and pain in her eyes. Seras understood at once and said, "Christopher, Flynn, Jin, Father Perigin, please leave us for a moment." The other members of Hellsing nodded once in understanding before walking out. The Catholic remained first but soon walked over to Elena Hellsing. She was obviously confused and frightened slightly, from the way she tightened her grip over her child.

Perigrin merely made the sign of the cross before he said, "I am sorry for your loss. However, he is now with the Lord, so fear not."

Seras didn't flinch once but merely repeated her request. "Father, please leave for a moment." He made another sign of the cross with his right hand before leaving the room. Seras sighed before walking closer to the two mourners, one of which was still sleeping. She stopped less than three feet away from the Hellsings then went down to one knee and bowed her head. "Lady Hellsing, I am sorry for your loss. Although William and I did not see eye to eye very often, he was a good man."

The woman said nothing at first, merely glaring down at the Vampire is if she was being insulted. She then sneered out, "Don't be coy. William told me what you are. One of your kind did this to him, didn't they."

Without missing a beat Victoria responded, still not raising her head. "According to our information, yes it was a vampire. He was eliminated as soon as we found him, though I am sure that does not make it any better."

"Why?" Exclaimed Elena, still holding her sleeping daughter tightly but not making any attempt to hide how upset she was.

Victoria looked up, somewhat confused by the woman's outburst. "I beg your pardon?"

"Why did William have to die? Isn't it your job to protect him from those... those... monsters!" She declared loudly.

Victoria merely looked back to Elana's crying face and responded. "I was not in the country when it happened. I only recently returned from a mission in Italy. However, I do not think that even I could have saved him. According to Agent Flynn, the attack was an explosive shell from a rocket propelled grenade launcher. They was no way to protect against him against such a sudden attack."

Elena merely glared back and responded with tears in her eyes. "That doesn't answer my question! Why did he die?" She was almost yelling now.

"Mommy?" Came a small voice. Both woman looked towards the little girl that was being held in her mother's arms with some shock. Both had thought she had been sleeping. The little girl's blue eyes were shifting back and forth between her mother and Seras. She paused after seeing Seras, blinking a few times before she realized who it was. "Miss Seras? Where's daddy?"

Both woman flinched at the soft question, neither really wanting to explain death to a young child. Finally after what seemed like a long silence, Seras responded. "Alice honey, your daddy has... passed on."

"Passed on? What does that mean? When is he coming back?" Alice asked, her voice beginning to crack. Tears were beginning to form in her bright blue eyes.

Seras fought down her own feelings and forced herself to speak in the same gentle tone. "He... won't be coming back for a long time."

It was at this point that there was a knock at the door. Christopher then poked his head in and said, "Sorry to intrude. Victoria, there's been some new developments."

Seras nodded once before rising to her feet. She looked back to the Hellsings and said, "Lady Hellsing, please put your daughter to bed for the time being. We still have much to discuss." She then gave Alice a small smile that showed her regret and gently rubbed the little girl's head. She then turned and walked outside to speak with Christopher.

-

"What did you just say?" Seras asked in disbelief, her hand covering her forehead in a mixture of anger and annoyance.

"A large group of armed Freaks have taken over Buckingham Palace. We believe them to be part of Lysandra's minions." Christopher responded very evenly, his eyes locked onto an emergency report that he had recently received.

Seras groaned and refrained from cursing at that moment. _I leave the country for less than 36 hours and the whole institution and everything we've worked for since Intera reformed the Hellsing Organization._ "What are their numbers?"

"Numbers are scattered. The attack was too sudden; we only are even aware of it because of an emergency signal that was sent out several moments ago." Christopher said as he looked up from his report. "There have also been several other reported cases of vampiric uprisings in different parts of the country."

Seras frowned, "So all the rats are coming out to play now that the cat is dead." She muttered to herself more than anyone else in the room.

Xavier spoke up at this point, "How many men do we have? And how quickly can we have them outfitted?"

Christopher looked back to the Division S agent and answered. "On location we have approximately one hundred-fifty to three hundred soldiers, give or take. If we push the panic button and start recalling men from the other bases, especially the Division S training facility, we could triple, many even quadruple that number in approximately 24 hours."

Seras closed her eyes and spoke up. "Start recalling them back with the exception of those at the facility." All the men in the hallway looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Why would you not want to recall all your forces?" Perigrin asked as if confused.

Seras didn't bother to open her eyes but let out a sigh in response. "The training facility is one of our most secret and secure locations. If anything, thats where I want to move the Hellsings for their own protection." Seras then opened her eyes and looked back to Christopher. "How long until the rest of Division S agents arrive?"

He man shook his head. "We weren't able to reach most of them. The last of the ones who we did reach should arrive in approximately six hours."

Seras scoffed under her breath. "We're up the damn creek without a paddle..."

Xavier looked to Jin and was going to ask what he though when he remembered that the guy couldn't talk. Jin didn't seem to notice his discomfort and merely continued to lean against the wall with his eyes closed. He rubbed the back of his head and withdrew a coin from his pocket. He began to flip it unconsciously as he asked, "Speaking of the Hellsings... what do we do now?"

Seras finally opened her eyes and said, "The same thing we've always done." She then reached into her coat and withdrew her weapons. Everyone there with the exception of Jin tensed slightly, more so in Perigrin's case. She released the bullet clips and reloaded the guns loudly before reholstering them. "We kill vampires. It's that simple."

Christopher pushed up his glasses slightly, "She's too young."

Seras scoffed under her breath. "She doesn't really have a choice in the matter Christopher. You know that; it was the same way for William, wasn't it?"

Xavier dropped his coin and gawked at Seras in complete shock. "You can't be serious!" When Seras made no motion to say anything in response, Xavier grabbed his forehead, "Well I'll be damned."

Perigrin looked back and forth between the three Hellsing members and finally asked, "What are you talking about?"

Seras paused for a moment before saying, "Nothing that you need to worry about right now Father." She paused for a moment before saying, "Christopher, please guide Father Perigrin to the situation room and provide him with any intelligence he requests." She then looked back to the Catholic and said, "Once you are fully aware of the situation, I ask that you hasten your call to Venelli for reinforcements. The shit officially hit the fan when that car exploded." She then turned to the two Division S operatives and said, "I want you two to begin arming the men as soon as possible. I also want a full lock down on the manor as well." She paused for a moment then said, "and if possible, bring the Hellsing's to the late Lord Hellsing's office in about an hour. We need to inform them of what exactly is going on."

Everyone from Hellsing nodded at the orders and began to go about their assigned tasks. Perigrin was in awe in the commanding presence she held over them. _I can't blame them, she's knows what she is doing. She's being doing this longer than any of us I suppose._

-

Once again Elena Hellsing found herself sitting at her husband's desk with Alice on her lap, now beginning to feel uneasy with the activity that was taking place. She watched as if in a daze, her mind feeling like it was leaving her body slightly and watching the whole situation as a third person. She watched as her husband's servant spoke quickly over the phone about deployments and armaments, his words lost in a sea of terminology that she didn't understand completely. The other two men were standing off the side, one of them merely leaning against the wall with a sword at his side, the other speaking into another phone about god knows what. The vampire merely sat on the edge of the desk with her eyes closed and a glass in her hand.

Through all of this, Alice was quiet, confused at everything that was going on and scared of what it all meant. She often looked up to her mother's face and saw her mother's worried expression. Being afraid of saying anything, she only tightened her grip on her mother.

Elena's eyes caught of Seras as the woman raised a glass of some red-liquid to her lips. She almost gagged when remembering what her husband had told her about the vampire. She finally spoke up lightly, only loud enough so that Seras could hear her. "Is that...?" She began, trailing off at the possible answer.

Seras looked over to her and shook her head. "No, not what you think. Just a really strong bloody mary."

Elena blinked once before almost bursting out in laughter for some reason she couldn't fathom. Seras raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She then said with a sad smile, "I think I could use one as well."

Seras shook her head. "...You'll want to be sober when Christopher gets off the phone. You're probably not gonna like what you're gonna hear." Seeing the woman's worried expression, Seras sighed and placed the glass on the desk and pushed it towards her.

Elena took the drink gratefully and took a sip and nearly cough it all out. _Is there any tomato juice in that at all? It tasted like pure vodka almost._ "That's a little strong." She squeaked out slightly before pushing the glass back.

Seras merely smirked at that. _Well, at least she tried it. Some wouldn't have even touched it after being in contact with a vampire._ Finally Christopher hung the phone up and turned to Seras. "The arrangements have been made. The facility is ready to receive them."

Seras nodded. She then pushed off of the desk and turned to face the Hellsings. "Lady Hellsing, for you and your daughter's protection, we are going to move you from this place to a far more secure location." Elena slowly nodded to showed she understood but was wondering where the bad news would come in. "Once the situation has been dealt with with, we will expedite your return." Seras paused once again, closing her eyes as if dreading the next statement.

Elena's eyes went between the vampire and Christopher, noticing the the blatant worry written on the man's face to the woman's stoic expression. "There's something else... isn't there?"

Christopher sighed and grabbed his forehead. "When you return, Miss Alice's education in regards to the organization will begin. Eventually she will take over the institution like her father."

Elena's brow narrowed, "What?"

Seras opened her eyes. "It is as you heard. The line of succession for the Hellsing institution shall continue."

Elena stood up, taking a moment to make sure her daughter was alright before yelling, "You can't seriously expect a six year old to run a place like this!"

Seras looked the woman dead in the eye and responded in an even tone. "Yes, I do. Your husband took control of this place when he was eight years old, not too much older than her."

Elena blinked at the woman's comment and then hissed back at her, "You people are insane." She backed away slightly before holding on her daughter, as if to protect from the other people in the room.

Xavier merely smirked, "Probably. What we do does have its effects on mental health." He felt three glares staring back at him and immediately shut his mouth and hoped there would be no retribution.

Seras turned back, placing the urge to hit Xavier in the back of her mind. "She is to lead the institution in the future. Your husband has probably already started her education, even though she may not even realize it."

"Education? Education on what?" Elena asked in disbelief.

Seras turned to the young girl and gave a gentle smile. "Alice honey, do you know what a vampire is?"

The little girl's eyes began to shift from person to person in the room. Finally she ventured in a scared voice, "Aren't they... monsters?"

Seras winced slightly at that question, but nodded gently. "Do you know why people call them monsters?"

The girl thought for a moment, "Because they suck people's blood and turn them into monsters?"

Seras nodded. "Thank you Alice. That's all I wanted to know." She then turned back to Elena and resumed her cold look. "See what I mean?"

Elena scoffed. "Everyone knows that stuff. I don't see how that implies an education on how to run a place like this."

"She will be instructed."

Elena yelled back, "Regardless, you can't take her! I won't let you. Why can't one of you take over? You seem to understand this nonsense better than anyone else." She yelled, pointing at Victoria.

Victoria merely looked back and said as if explaining a known fact, "It must be led by a Hellsing."

"Why? You haven't given me any real reason besides tradition that she has to do this!"

Xavier scratched his chin, "Actually I was kinda wondering that too." The other members of Hellsing turned their eyes to him as if ready to murder him on the spot, but he didn't seem to care at all. "After all, it makes more sense for someone like Christopher to take over, or even you Draculina. We wouldn't have to drag anyone else into this... business."

Seras took a deep breath, as if trying to control herself from snapping out. "It. Must. Be. A. Hellsing." She forced out each word between clenched teeth.

"Unless you give me a real reason, I'm leaving and taking my daughter with me." Elena stated flatly.

At that point Seras broke out into cold laughter, causing Elena to take a step back. The other members of Hellsing merely widened their eyes and tensed up, even the quiet swordsman. Seras finally broke her laughter and said in a very cold, but amused voice. "Pardon my bluntness Lady Hellsing, but it you dare take a step outside of this place without protection, you and your daughter will die."

Elena grit her teeth, wishing she could hurt this monstrosity that stood before her. _How could William deal with such... a monster!_ "You would go that far? You're despicable!"

Seras blinked once then chuckled again before speaking. "You misunderstand me. Neither I, nor anyone in this room, would ever harm the Hellsing family in any manner."

Elena raised an eyebrow and stared back and asked, "Then what did you mean?"

Seras sighed before crossing her arms and leaning back against the desk, turning her back to Elena. "You know what I am, right? I'm sure William told you after that kidnapping." Not waiting for any sort of response, Seras continued, "Let me explain something about the Hellsing line. It is a long line of vampire slayers, continuing down from the Dark ages. They have purged far too many vampires to count, and the stench of death surrounded them in the past. That stench still carries down today, but only in the form of their blood."

"What do you mean?"

Seras sighed again, "Meaning that if I had not already ate, merely being this close to a virgin Hellsing maiden would cause me to practically salivate." She then looked over her shoulder and said, "From now on, if your daughter ever goes out at night, she will be hunted. The only thing that may even contend with her scent is that of a holy man. But even that is like a salad compared to the fillet mignon that is a Hellsing's blood. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Elena slumped back down in the chair. "So basically, you're saying that she needs to take over this hellish place or you won't bother to protect her."

There was a long silence as the truth settled over the room. Christopher was the one to break it, "To put it bluntly, yes."

Elena scowled, "You're all insane monsters. I think we'll take our chances rather than remain here."

"Oi, isn't that a bit harsh?" Xavier questioned before a glare from Seras silenced him. _She's getting pissed. I think I'll just shut up for a while._

"It must be a Hellsing!" Seras declared loudly again, her patience wearing thin.

"Why?" Elenda screamed back.

Seras gritted her teeth before snarling back. "Because only the blood of a Hellsing can control him!" There was a long period of silence where all the occupants of the office stared at Victoria in blank shock. She wore a mask of utter rage, taking deep breaths as if she had just finished a grueling task. She slowly recovered herself and turned away from the rest of them, as if fed up with their protests.

_Control him? Control who? _Were the shared thoughts of the Hellsing operatives as they continued to stare at their expert in vampire extermination. _Just what exactly is going through her mind right now?_ Xavier thought to himself as he saw the woman's hand clenching tightly into fists.

Only Christopher was able to put it together. He took a step back in spite of everything and stuttered out, "Dear lord, you can't mean... him?" Seras didn't turn to face the man but nodded once. Elena flinched as the man turned pale at the gesture, _What... does that mean?_ "You can't be serious! Surely we aren't in such a bad position that we need to release him!"

Seras scoffed under her breath. "Even I am not completely sure I can destroy Lysandra. I don't think we have anyone who can." She then sighed and turned around before leaning against the wall. "Regardless, if she was to leave and die, then he could never be released again. That could prove disastrous to the organization."

"... What are you talking about?" Elena asked, one again clutching her daughter tightly.

Seras looked to Christopher who only nodded once, as if giving his consent. Seras sighed and spoke, "The Hellsing institution has another... one like me." Sensing the surprise from the woman, she continued. "He was my former master before I broke the bond of servitude. He is..." she trailed off, trying to think of a way to describe her former master's power. "Terrifyingly powerful... and somewhat psychotic. In all honesty, I would like it would be best if he was never released again." She looked back to the girl and continued to speak her warning, "That vampire has served the Hellsing family from before I was a vampire. He is bond only by a blood contract spell and can only be awakened by the blood of a Hellsing."

Elena scoffed, "Then by leaving we're doing the world a favor."

Xavier scratched his head, "Well, if you never want to release him what's the problem. Let the kid go, let them die if that's what they want." He said nonchalantly, not caring about the horrified look on the face of Lady Hellsing.

Seras shook her head. "He's our ultimate trump card. It's not something we can so easily throw away."

"Enough, my daughter will have no part in unsealing something that dangerous." She stood up and helped Alice to her feet. "Come on Alice honey, we're going home." The two began walking towards the door but as Elena's hand touched the doorframe. Seras' cold voice rang out.

"I don't care what you do, or how you raise your daughter Lady Hellsing. But I will have her blood, one way or the other."

At that statement Elena tensed up considerably, her eyes widening as a wave of dark power rushed over her body. She found herself shaking uncontrollably. _Is this the same thing she did to those men? No, this is killing intent. She plans to kill me to keep Alice here!_

"Draculina, that's enough." Came Xavier's voice, his weapon raised to strike at the woman as he watched Lady Hellsing tremble next to her daughter who seemed unaffected by the dark energies that flowed through the room. Jin likewise had pushed off of the wall and had his hand ready to draw his katana. Apparently he was not okay with Seras' intentions. Christopher had also drawn a pistol and aimed it at Victoria, not quite sure if he would be able to stop the vampire if it was even possible at this point.

Seras scowled and said, "You idiotic humans are all the same. I didn't mean it like that and if you idiots should know that by now." She then turned to Christopher and said, prepare an IV for blood extraction. Get a sample of her blood and put it into cold storage."

Elena Hellsing found herself relaxing as she heard Victoria's words. Likewise the three men lowered their weapons, Xavier making a big show about how worried she had just made him. Seras spoke again, "Lady Hellsing after we've taken a sample, you will be taken to the facility for your own protection. After the situation has been dealt with, you can do whatever you want. You can leave England for all I care, just don't ever come back here asking for help. Is that understood?"

Elena nodded weakly, "Yes. Thank you."

Seras scoffed, "Don't thank me human. Be thankful that I still wish to protect the Hellsing family otherwise I would have done just what you feared."

Finally after she had remained silent in confusion and fear since Seras had questioned her, Alice Hellsing spoke up. "Umm, Miss Seras? Does this have anything to do with a strange man in a dark red coat?"

Seras' head whipped around at a rate the looked as if she had snapped her own neck. Her face had gone pale, well paler than normal considering she had no blood running there. Xavier watched this with interest, wondering why the question had such an effect. _Looks like she just met her dead father or something._

"Wha... What did you just say?" Seras asked in dumb shock. _No, it couldn't be. There's no way she can know about him. Hell, even William knew nothing of what Alucard looked like._

Alice scratched her head before shaking out of her mother's grasp and turning to face Seras. "He's a tall man, and wears a red coat. And this funny looking red hat thats really wide." She said, holding her hands out to emphasize the size of the hat.

Seras almost fell to her knees in surprise. She stuttered out, completely in shock. "How did... How... How do you know him?"

Alice looked worried at Seras' reaction. "I'm not really sure. Ever since daddy brought us here, he's sometimes in my dreams."

Seras fell to her knees in complete shock. "He's... already approached you..." She said weakly, as if fearing the answer.

Xavier finally spoke up, feeling strangely disturbed at the tough as nails vampire in shock like she was showing. "Hey, what's that mean?"

Seras was silent in mute shock for a few moments. Then she began to laugh softly, which then rose in intensity as she merely stared ahead. It was a disturbing sight to say the least. "That means... he's ready to wake up..."

"What?"

Seras recomposed himself and raised herself up to her feet. She had a strange expression on her face, as if happy yet unhappy at the same time. "Perhaps it is time to pull out our trump card after all."

Xavier raised an eyebrow then couldn't help but grin. He flipped out a card from his sleeve and held up the ace of spades. "A card better than this?" He asked with amusement.

Seras only allowed a wicked grin to cover her face. "Better. Rather than one of the four suites, we have the ace of death; the strongest card in the game."

Xavier began to cackle like a mad man when he realized what this meant. "Let the game begin then!"

Seras only laughed with him in the same nearly insane way, "It's time you see what a true wildcard is like Flynn."


	21. Chapter 20

Well boys and girls after my disappearnce it is time that I once again show myself from the darkness that I hide myself in. Sorry for delays but once againI had no real urge to write. I don't like forcing stuff out because it isn't as good. THough it wasn't for the perstering of the people who read this story, I might have merely dropped it for longer than I've let it go. Don't worry, I will not drop this story completely! I've spent way too much time planning on where I am taking this story to let it die. I did however lose alot of my preliminary notes on this fic, which annoys me since I needed to remap it out.

Since I haven't updated this story in... four months? I thought that I'd take the time to respond to some reviews but as I look at the reviews, many of them are similar and complementing my odd writing style or threats to 'gut me like a fish' if I don't update soon. While I'm flattered that so many seem to enjoy this story, and I noticed it even made its way into one of the few Hellsing C2 groups, the writing just hasn't been coming as easy for me as it used to. Perhaps because the following chapter was something that had always bugged me on how I was going to do it. To answer some actual questions, some I've let slide for who knows how long:

** Broochky**: You've been one of the most prevelant reviews to this story so I thought I'd address you concern about this fic. Yes, odds are I will start only updating this story at the expense of Dark Futures. Its not like I don't want to keep writing that story, but free time is something that I'm finding myself having less and less of. I didn't even update that much over my winter break because of sickness either so I can understand. I'm not letting DF die, but I've put it on hold as I've started thinking up other stories that would be interesting to work on. Keeping those under wraps until I have planned them out a little further and then if I actually decide to do them or now.

**Scuifer**: Thanks for the interesting take on this story. I didn't plan to do it, but as the story developed it just seemed to flow naturally into that design. As for the issue of her being more loyal than Alucard to the Hellsing family, you do have a point. I guess I just thought that she at first only served as part of Alucard's last wish, but over time she grew to respect the family. I tried to show that with William Hellsing but I never really did do alot with his character, which somewhat irks me now that I think about it.

**Thess** : Ah, yeah... Well I'll be honest I didn't really do any research on that. I just kinda knew who I wanted to be the villian and didn't really look into something from that angle. My bad.

These are the only ones that jump at me now as I'm thinking about it but if there are any plot questions or something that isn't understood, let me know. I may not update often but I will try to answer any questions. Likewise, if there is a huge gaping hole in my plot somewhere that screams "The author is an idiot!" let me know as well. The positive reviews are nice to see, but its the ones that explain my faults that are much more helpful.

Before I start I'll warn that the chapter after this one might take a while before its posted as well. Between my school work which is taking up for more time this semester than ever before, and Xenosaga two coming out soon, it might be a while before this gets updated. Hell, I'll try to update before I get that game, because once I get it, its probably going to consume any free time I have.  
Enough waiting I suppose, here's the newest chapter.  
**  
Chapter Twenty: From the Darkness**

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. However, it only only a line of pure indifference that separates a desperate measure from one that must be done. Perhaps that is why those who know where that line is and are still willing to cross it are called 'insane'?"

Flynn found himself at a loss for words as he followed behind Father Perigrin and Draculina. He was used to Draculina being confident and cynical, always ready with a sharp tongue should it become necessary to shut someone up. However it seemed as the trio descended further and further into the depths of the Hellsing manor that the silence was growing thicker and thicker with every step. Normally this wouldn't bother Flynn at all, as he would begin to merely hum some tune or another, but it was the way that Victoria was acting that was making him oddly uncomfortable.

It was as if she was terrified of the prospect of what was about to happen.

Flynn really didn't understand this, remembering how she had spoken about her former master in the past. It was obvious that she respected the vampire with a passion not understandable to the man. _But if she respects him so much, then why is she so nervous about freeing him? Before she seemed ecstatic at the concept. I mean, I can understand the Catholic's apprehension, hell you can cut it with a knife its so thick._

This was true, and both members of the Hellsing institution knew it. Perigrin did not know why they were proceeded into the depths of the manor; it was only requested that he come. Seeing how he was ordered to cooperate with the Royal Protestant Knights, he saw no reason not to comply. All they told him was that they were going to get what could be the key to turning the tide against Lysandra. However, as the trio went further and further into the darkness, Flynn watched in idle amusement as the man began twitching from time to time from the dark power that seemed to be emanating from the depths. It didn't bother Flynn as much, though he did somewhat chilled by it. He chalked it to hanging around Victoria and working with her as much as he had in the past.

Finally Victoria stopped her stride and paused outside of a locked dungeon door. It was covered with various sealing tags and it was obvious that something was inside. She turned to the door and ran her hand over the surface with a sad smile on her face, not showing any sign of pain as her hand began hissing as it ran over the seals. She finally spoke up. "Father Perigrin, if you would be so kind?" She said, implying the order as she removed her hand.

Perigrin looked confused for a moment as he studied the seals, noticing one or two that were consistent with seals of Iscariot. He then nodded in understanding before withdrawing his silver blade. With several quick slashes, the seals on the door were destroyed and he opened the door for Victoria, wondering in silence why Iscariot had been to Hellsing manor before. _The order has never been on good terms with these heretics... why are our seals present here?_

Seras nodded in thanks. "It would be best if you remained her Father. I do not know how he will react to his presence."

Pergrin raised an eyebrow, "He?" He then looked into the darkened room and his eyes widened as he took a step away from the door. Flynn looked confused until he peeked his head into the doorway and saw what caused Perigrin to flinch. Flynn merely looked at it with idly interest before shrugging and walking into the door. _So this is our trump card... Doesn't look like much._ Flynn thought as Victoria followed him inside, her face impassive at seeing the decaying corpse laying against the far wall.

She stopped next to Flynn and held out her hand. "Give it here." She ordered, her eyes still locked on the corpse that was wearing a strange looking straight jacket. Flynn shrugged his shoulders and reached inside his suit coat and withdrew a rather large vial. He swished the contents around in front of his face before feeling a sick feeling overtake him. He then handed the vial of pure Hellsing blood to the woman, taking a few steps away as if somewhat expecting her to react violently to the blood.

Much to Victoria's credit she only stared at the vial with a strange longing in her eyes. She stared at it for a long time before she shook her head forcefully, snapping whatever hold the blood in front of her held over her. _I can't even smell it through the glass and its already igniting the blood-lust this much. _She then walked over to the corpse and kneeled down next to it. For a moment, she forgot about the vial in her hand and looked over the corpse.

The remains of the skin were haggard and thin. It appeared as if the corpse's eyes were gone, leaving only dark shadows where they used to be. The skin around the face seemed to look mutilated which caused her to avert her eyes for a moment as the memories of watching the sealing replayed in her mind. She shook her head as she ran her other hand through the remains of the white hair that was attached to the corpse's head.

She finally gave a small smile before reaching around and tilting the head up. The mouth hung open loosely, no muscles seemingly there to support the jaw. She then took a deep breath before saying, "Flynn, you might want to move farther back. Last time he was woken up he killed about a dozen people without breaking a sweat according to Interga." She paused for a moment and then added, "Don't do anything stupid either. He never did have a lot of patience." Sensing the man nodding behind her and moving back farther, she raised the vial of blood and removed the stopper with her thumb. Before the scent could overpower her senses, Seras poured the contents of the vial into the mouth of the corpse.

Seras had never seen Alucard wake up before, so she had no idea what to expect. She wasn't even sure if what they were doing right now was going to work. She did not expect the skin around the face to beginning growing back at an exponential rate as the liquid traveled down the corpse's throat. Nor did she expect the restraining jacket to snap like a wet t-shirt as the body began flailing in its restraints. She did however somewhat expect the rush of dark power that flooded the room. She couldn't help but smile slightly as the eye sockets began to glow before the skin of eyelids formed over them. The vial was almost empty when those same eyelids opened and revealed a pair of blood red eyes that seemed to shine with a strange longing for destruction. She only smirked as the process continued, unaware of how her two companions were reacting.

Flynn's body locked up as the rush of dark power overpowered his senses. He fell to his knees as he watched as the darkness seemed to surge forth unchecked from the body of the corpse. It wasn't even before he saw those eyes that he noticed that his teeth were clattering together, but the sound was being drowned out by the influx of power in the room. It was only then that he realized it. _This sensation... this is... terror?_

Outside, Father Perigrin wasn't doing much better. Indeed when the dark forces surged unexpectedly, his body reacted accordingly. He instantly brought forth his weapons but before he could do anything else his body froze. He couldn't help but gape in astonishment as his blade and firearm fell from his grasp, his hands unable to maintain their hold on the weapons. He looked from his weapons that clattered to the ground to the woman and corpse inside. It was only then that he realized what was happening. _Dear lord, what have I done?_ He struggled to fight off the dark power as his body slowly moved to pick up his weapons and staggered into the dungeon.

And almost as quickly as it began, it stopped as soon as the vial emptied completely. Flynn's body stopped shivering and Perigrin was able to move normally again as well, but both men felt exhausted for no apparent reason. They exchanged glances before turning back to see the results of the virgin blood of a Hellsing. It was then that the woman stood up from her kneeling position and took several steps back, a strange expression on her face. She then went down to one knee and bowed her head, stupefying the two men that were in the room with her. _Seras Victoria bows to no one!_ Flynn thought in disbelief before his eyes trailed back to the form that had been huddled against the wall.

His jaw dropped in shock as he noticed that the corpse was gone, and in its place was now what looked like a very tall man. His skin was pale, his white hair seeming to match the color of his skin. He bore red irises that seemed to pierce through Flynn's soul. He felt himself reaching for his weapon uncertainly at those eyes. The man was now standing tall in the remains of a black body suit, adorned with numerous buckles and straps. It was then that the figure began to laugh. He began laughing manically, the voice low and deep, causing Flynn to even take a few steps back, idly wondering if the being in front of him would kill him at this moment.

Finally the figure stopped laughing and spoke. "It has been a long time. You have grown into a fine being of the night."

Seras spoke, not raising her eyes at all. "Thank you, my master." Her voice was without emotion, or rather containing conflicting ones.

The figure merely laughed again before turning its gaze from Flynn to the woman kneeling in front of him. "Rise. The bond of servitude to me was broken long ago policegirl."

Seras merely smirked as she rose to her feet. She let her smirk fade as she looked into her former master's eyes and said in an annoyed tone. "After all this time, you still don't use my name. You really are a bastard, you know that?"

Neither one of them responded for quite some time. The silence was deafening and Flynn found himself feeling like he should not have come again. It was only then that the emotionless expressions on the two vampires broke and Seras allowed herself a full grin as she stepped forward and embraced the other. "It's been a long time Master Alucard."

Alucard merely smirked back. "It has child. No, it seems I can longer call you that Seras Victoria. You have blossomed into a lovely creature it seems." He said as if he was a proud parent. He pulled her off him and looked her over. "A fine beauty indeed."

She chuckled softly before punching him lightly on the shoulder. "Stop it. You're old enough to be my ancestor you realize?" It was then that she noticed that her former master's gaze was not on her any longer but rather the two men who were standing towards the other side of the room. She slowly turned her head to see both of them flinch.

Flynn was the first to react. He let an awkward grin cover his face as he withdrew a coin from his pocket and began twirling it between his fingers. "This is the trump card of the institution?" He tilted his head slightly while looking at Alucard and then remarked casually, "He's taller than I thought he'd be." While acting nonchalant, he knew that both vampires could easily read his mind and see how nervous he was. After all, it wasn't often that one was surround by two pure blood vampires, especially two that didn't feed on humans.

Perigrin was still clenching his weapons tightly, biting his lip to keep from screaming. _Matthew you fool! You allowed them to unleash another one of their 'pets' into this world. And from that power it seems that he is far stronger than the demoness._ "You tricked me..."

Seras scoffed under her breath before saying, "I did no such thing. I merely asked you along to remove the seals on that door, no other reason. Don't get testy with me Catholic."

Alucard allowed himself a large grin as he brushed some of his white hair out from the side of his face. "A dog of those Italians here? Is this a waking up gift Seras?"

Seras frowned at that before saying, "Father Perigrin, at ease." She then turned to Alucard before he could move and clamped down on his shoulder, "And no, you can't eat him. There's much to discuss Master."

Alucard noticing her iron grip on his shoulder and looked to her in odd confusion. He saw her expression and nodded. "It seems that way, though I already know part of it."

Seras nodded once and let out a sigh of relief. _Seems like he's going to behave himself._ She gradually loosened her grip before speaking again, "Father, please contact your forces and confirm their arrival time. Likewise with you Flynn, I need to know when the rest of Division S is going to arrive. We can't stay at this location too much longer."

Flynn looked confused for a moment before asking, "Why?"

Seras growled under her breath. "Because you gambling twit, our enemies know where we are. I'm practically amazed that we haven't been attacked yet as it stands." She then looked between both of them before saying, "Speak with Christopher to coordinate your movements. I want us moving in less than an hour with the remainder of our forces en-route."

Flynn pocketed the coin and let out a bored sounding sigh. "Sure thing Draculina." He tossed a nod to Alucard and mumbled a strange, "nice to meet you" before leaving. Perigrin remained rooted in his spot, glaring hatefully at the two vampires. Finally, he spit to the side and left the room, mumbling Latin prayers under his breath.

Seras then turned to look back at her former master. He was watching the two leave with open interest before he turned to meet her gaze. Her features softened slightly before she asked, "Are you still weak? Integra didn't really describe what would happen when you woke up."

He merely answered with that strange soft of arrogance only the powerful have. "I am not back to my full power yet but that can be remedied with some fresh blood."

Seras nodded in understanding before she began to phase into the shadows. "Follow me then." Alucard merely watched until she vanished before chuckling to himself and phasing into the shadows after her. _It seems you've grown in an interesting way my dear..._

-

Flynn pulled off the ear piece he had been barking into for the past half hour as he walked into the office that once belonged to William Hellsing. He had been speaking with the group that had led the Hellsings to the facility. Now, Sanders was in charge of their safety but it wasn't like his job was over yet. He slumped into a chair and rubbed his forehead as Christopher only barely noticed him before going back to his own phone. It seemed as Victoria had assumed correctly, and reports of a rather large detachment of vampires would be converging on the manor in only an hour or so. _I hate it when Draculina is right._

That stray thought was rewarded by a smack on the back of the head but the woman who had just phased into the office from the shadows behind the silver stringer. "Stop complaining kid. What's the status of the other members?" She asked, an annoyed frown on her face.

Flynn rubbed the back of his head rather painfully before he spoke, "The Hellsing family has been moved to the facility. Old man Sanders can handle their safety. As for the rest of the members who we were able to contact, they won't reach here before the enemy does so I told them to wait at one of our other bases. We should start heading out there soon if we're going; it'll take time to move all the normal soldiers."

Seras nodded in understanding. While Hellsing manor was the true home of the Hellsing Institution, as the organization grew in the past it became necessary to create other bases should the manor ever fall. These other bases were only staffed with a skeleton staff but that should be more than enough since most people didn't even know they existed at all. "What about the Iscariots?"

Christopher lowered the phone from his ear and said, "Father Perigrin has already left to meet up with them. He gave us a way to contact him and they plan to attack Buckingham when we give the word." The older man paused for a moment before venturing, "He seemed quite angry about something."

Seras scoffed, "I bet. He helped release the strongest creature of darkness to ever grace mankind with his presence. He probably would feel more comfortable if he had shaken hands with the devil himself."

Flynn raised an eyebrow, "Speaking of that guy, where is he?" Flynn chuckled for a moment before joking, "Out looking for some Italian food?"

Seras laughed at that as well. "No, I explained the situation with Section XIII to him. He says he'll behave... at least until they turn on us. He's feeding right now though."

Flynn nodded before asking, "Is he the one you told me about?"

She nodded. "Once he returns to full strength we're heading to Buckingham. If he sees it at a challenge, he can become the sharpest blade ever crafted. And I have no doubt after that surge of dark power that our enemy knows he is awake." She then shook her head, "Christopher, who from Division S has reported in."

"Disregarding Agents Flynn and Jin, Agents Hawthorne, Masters,Williams, and Lycos are standing by, although Agent Lycos is still injured. Agents Brey and Shaffer are en route to meet us at the rendezvous point."

Seras smirked a bit at the names before Flynn spoke, "Masters is here? I don't like the way that guy fights; its disturbing."

Seras chuckled before adding, "Really? It makes me hungry." She then a sick grin cover her face. The Agent in question was another member of the elite group who had powers not common to the ordinary soldier. While he seemed like any other member of the Division, he had mastery over his own blood, often using it as a weapon against his surprised enemies. After all, not many vampires expected mere humans to use their own blood as a weapon against them.

Flynn looked at her with a strange expression before a grin crossed his face as well. "This battle is going to be a god damn bloodbath, isn't it Draculina?" It was a strange pun, considering they had been speaking about Masters but Seras knew that even without the blood user that the coming battle would be so.

She smirked, "If Alucard is taking part, to a level you can't even begin to fathom Wildcard." She then turned back to Christopher, "Start moving them out. We'll join up with Brey and Shaffer before making our move. You two go now, we'll catch up later."

Christopher nodded and left the room, raising a cellular phone to his ear and continuing to bark orders into it. His loud and commanding voice was quite surprising for such an old man. Flynn stood up, brushing some dust off of his pant legs before smirking. "You sure we can leave you two kids alone?"

Seras raised an eyebrow before asking in an even tone, somewhat knowing she didn't want to take the bait.

He merely chuckled before taking out a coin and rolling it between his fingers. He turned and walked out of the room, raising his free hand and waving over his back. "You kids make sure to keep your hands to yourselves; no vampire babies allowed here." His voice was joking but Seras was shocked at the man's audacity. Not that she shouldn't have seen that coming from Flynn.

She was left alone in the office and didn't realize it but her body was trembling in anger. She was grinding her teeth at the Division S agent, making a silent promise to herself to beat the piss out of him if he survived the coming conflict. She was startled when a hand gripped her shoulder from behind gently and reacted accordingly. She grabbed the arm, locking it in her grasp to prevent escape with one hand while reaching for the Jackal with the other. Within a half second she had turned and pointed the weapon towards her assailant. When she saw exactly who it was, she blinked in surprise before lowering the weapon and releasing his arm. "You know, you really shouldn't do that. I usually shoot first and ask questions later." She said with an exasperated sigh as she re-holstered the large black sidearm.

The elder vampire merely chuckled as he opened and closed his hand a few times to regain feeling. _So she has become much stronger in a mere one hundred years. Interesting._ He then chuckled and said, "It's not like you could kill me."

She frowned at the statement before sighing in defeat. _True. Considering what Incognito did to him, nothing I could do is on par with that level of damage._ "Are you finished eating?" She asked, noticing for the first time that he had changed... somehow. She never really did understand how he managed to create clothing out of thin air, but then again she never really cared how he did it either.

He was once again wearing the outfit that she had first seen him in. It was a surprising difference from the strange blackbody suit he had been wearing when he had awoken. Gone were the black straps and buckles and once again the red trenchcoat and cravat were present. The yellow sunglasses, which she thought were rather uncessary since most of the time he allowed them to drop to the brim of his nose, revealing his eyes to the world anyway, rested as per usual on the brim of his nose. He no longer wore the ridiculously large red hat but she did notice that his hair had returned to its normal color.

In other words, he was his own spitting image in Victoria's mind.

He looked away from her eyes and towards the door. "That human is rather interesting. Amusing even."

Seras sighed and grabbed her head. _Don't even tell me he likes Flynn. It's just my luck that the two of them would get along. I swear if they start working together they'll drive me insane._ "He's merely a fool whose mind has experienced too much. He's a loon."

Alucard chuckled before adding, "He has some interesting thoughts about you Seras." He then placed his hand on her shoulder and added, "Besides, I like working with those kinds of 'loons' as you call them."

She rolled her eyes before turning away from him and walking towards the desk in the office. She withdrew both handguns and dropped them on top. "I imagine so. I started blocking them out when he first started hitting on me. He tends to forget what I am." She then walked around to the other side of the desk and sat in the chair. She gestured towards the Jackal and the Cassul, twin handguns that had served her well. "I imagine its time to return these to you. They were fun to use." She said that last part with an amused smile.

Alucard merely smirked as he recognized the weapons. "It's a shame that Angel of Death Walter isn't here to see this. He would probably be horrified that you haven't been using the weapon he made you." He said as he walked over and picked them up, the feeling becoming natural once again to his senses.

Seras rolled her eyes. "The only time I use that thing is when we storm a fortress. It's either those guns or I use my bare hands most of the time. It gets the job done much faster." There was a loud laugh from the elder vampire at this remark as he placed the guns within his own bloody trenchcoat. She watched him curiously before asking, "So what's your take on this whole thing."

He merely gave her a sadistic grin before saying, "Sounds like fun."

Once again Seras gave an annoyed sigh. _Of course that's his take on this. Death and destruction are his fortes._ "I meant do you think you'll be able to kill her?"

Alucard frowned and glared at the younger vampire. "Don't take me for some weak human. If she is an enemy then she shall be destroyed. That's how it is."

Again Seras sighed, "I know that. I meant with your powers being sealed as they are. Only a Hellsing can release you from those bindings and quite frankly we're rather short on them right now." She said the last part of the statement with an amused tone.

This caused the elder vampire to change expressions once again, this time to one of deep confusion. "Speaking of which, where is my new master? It's odd that I have yet to meet her."

Seras raised an eyebrow before chuckling slightly, "Your _master_'s mother is trying to protect her from you." Seeing the elder vampire's confused look she only laughed harder. "Your reputation proceeds you. Don't worry, once we send Lysandra and his worthless goons to the abyss, you can annoy the two of them all you want."

Alucard merely sighed and walked over past the desk to look outside the rather large window. He stared out the window towards the bright moon in the sky. His voice was rather somber, something rather unexpected out of the vampire. "Has the organization really fallen this far? That we have to pair up with those dogs of the Vatican and a vampire is more or less running it."

Seras stood and walked over to stand next to him. She shrugged, "Lord Hellsing was murdered less than eighteen hours ago and we're merely running damage control while trying to organize a counter attack. I have no doubts that despite what her mother thinks, the Hellsing heir will take her rightful place one day. Things will go back to normal."

Alucard merely shook his head before pushing the sunglasses up to cover his eyes. "The moon is high; its a nice night." He merely said, his voice strangely relaxed.

Seras nodded in agreement. "I have the feeling that this will be the last one for a while."

Alucard looked to his former ward and noticed the familiar gloves that she wore. A frown covered his face before he asked, "You're still sealing your own power." The tone made it seem more like a statement than a question however. He then sighed before turning back to the moon, "If you don't allow your power to manifest naturally, you'll never be able to use it. It may destroy you from within if you don't adapt to it."

Seras shrugged once more. "My body is used to it. I trained extensively away from here after you were sealed in order to learn to control it. I had to distance myself in order to do so to keep from harming anyone. I merely use these seals to make sure I don't abuse that power." She said as she raised one of her hands and stared at the marks on the back of the gloves.

Alucard gave a small nod before asking, "So you finally can use your familiar..."

Seras smirked, knowing full well that while it seemed he wasn't paying any attention to her that she had his full attention. "Actually... no. That is the sole part of my powers that I am unable to control. It caused great pain for me to use until I realized why. Since then I haven't used it at all. Not that I've ever faced an opponent I've really needed to use it." She then frowned before speaking again in a joking voice, "Most of the worms I hunt are more interested in getting into my pants than fighting me."

The elder vampire laughed at that, a deep laugh that would cause discomfort to those who did not know him. "Much like that 'Wildcard' fellow..."

She rolled her eyes before saying in an even voice, "I knew it was a mistake to introduce you two to each other. Somehow I have the feeling that if you scanned his memories you would enjoy it immensely. The guy fights like a lunatic."

There was a strange shifting as both vampires continued to gaze at the moon. Finally Seras spoke up, her tone much different from the one she had been previously using. "Looks like they're here."

Alucard merely allowed a grin to slowly grow on his face. "It has been far too long since I have seen blood flow. They better entertain me."

Seras merely moved her gaze from the moon down to the courtyard that the window overlooked. She watched in idle interest as a swarm of freak vampires stormed the courtyard, unaware of the death sentence that had been given to them by their masters. She then cracked her neck once before turning to her former master, "Shall we?"

"Indeed. Let the carnage and wails of fear begin." He said while chuckling in a dark voice.

Seras merely stared at him with an odd expression before shaking her head and mumbling to herself, "And you're still a nutcase..."

-

The soldiers from Hellsing had been long gone by the time the freaks stormed the manor. They were all surprised at the apparent lack of prey as they rushed through the empty hallways and passageways of the castle manor. It was not as they had been told; they had been told to expect heavy resistance from all points within. The castle was empty.

However, as one freak opened the door to the office of the late William Hellsing, he was greeted by the barrel of a large black handgun as it pointed directly into his forehead. His eyes slowly trailed up until he saw a pair, one dressed in blood red, the other in dark blue. The one in dark red merely grinned before he said, "Let the games begin my dear Seras." That was the last thing that the freak saw before his skull was ripped apart by a silver round.

Seras didn't do much as she watched her former master show their enemies why he was known as the Ace of Death. She couldn't help but smirk as she thought, _We are coming for you Bloody Countess. You wanted a war; you shall receive one. And Alucard and I shall be Hellsing's vanguard. Start washing your neck now, since it would be long before Alucard will bleed you dry._


	22. Chapter 21

Well boys and girls, here's the next installment. No battle to those waiting, but its coming, let me assure you. In fact, the first part of the big battle that most of you are probably waiting for is going to be the next chapter. I plan on splitting it up quite a bit, because so many things will be going on simultaneously, somewhat similar to what I did with the raid on the freak chip factory. And don't you worry, the man in red will have his part to play as well, as well as the members of Division S who have yet to show up. They are introduced here, but I am not 100 percent sure how long I plan on keeping them around, considering the turning point in the story is coming quickly.

Enough of my ranting, on to the story. Enjoy.

**Chapter Twenty-One: The Shadow Division Reveals Itself**

"Those who remain behind the scenes are often the most dangerous."

Christopher couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief as Seras Victoria entered the briefing room, through the door for once. He, and the other commanding members of the organization (namely the members of Division S who had arrived, as well as some high ranking officers within the normal ranks of the organization) had been waiting for the vampiric duo to show up for over an hour in tense discussion on how to take Buckingham Palace. He noticed that she was alone and was about to ask where the elder vampire was but decided against it as he saw her serious expression. As she met Christopher's gaze she only nodded as if to say, 'continue with what you were doing.' A exchange of nods was all the greeting she got from the other members in attendance before she leaned against the wall next to Christopher. She closed her eyes and merely listened to the conversation, as if she no longer cared what was being discussed.

Christopher shook his head before turning his attention back to the man who was speaking. Agent Darwin Lycos was the one leading the planning discussion, something that Christopher was very grateful for. Although he was one of the less powerful Division S members, he was also one of the few who retained what one could call sanity. Christopher frowned at that thought, _The training is harsh but is it the training that drives them mad or is it what they do on a daily basis that causes it? Then again Agent Jin seems relatively normal, at least all things considered._ He shook his head to clear his thoughts as he continued to listen.

Agent Lycos was wearing what seemed like the normal Division S attire. A simple black business suit, not unlike the kind that members of the American Secret Service wore, fit him well and seemed as if it had been freshed cleaned. He had a youthful and clean-shaven face, one that caused people within the Division to give him the nickname 'babyface.' He had blond hair and light blue eyes that seemed to glimmer whenever he was in his element. His element being that of a planner, or as some would refer to him as, a strategist. His left arm hung limply in a sling, a sign of recent injury from the field. "From the information we've been able to obtain it is clear that Buckingham was not their primary objective. As you can see here," he said as he pointed to difference places on a map that had been nailed to the nearest wall, his voice sounding older than he appeared, "they have spread their numbers out, including taking over some major television and radio stations. It also appears that they've taken several other locations but I not familiar with these others."

A man standing nearby wearing a normal Hellsing uniform spoke up, "I recognize two of those locations as being hidden weapons depots for the army and SAS. The others are small military bases." He said as he pointed to each of the locations that had been circled in a dark black marker. The man frowned as his finger paused on one of the locations. "Some of these others I don't know about... Where the hell did they get the numbers to pull this off..." The main trailed off, his frustration with the situation obvious.

Another officer spoke in an irritated tone. "The bastards must've been planning this for a long time if they were able to gather up this many freaks."

Lycos nodded, as if taking in this new information and processing it somewhere in the back of his mind. This is when another man spoke up, his voice showing that the situation, if it affected him at all, was making him bored if anything. "So what. We merely need to cut off the head and the rest will fall." He was wearing the standard suit of Division S but instead of the normal black it was a dark red. His head was bowed low, his eyes locked on the floor as his brown hair covered his eyes from view as he held his arms crossed together across his chest.

This was when Flynn spoke up, his usual cockiness ever present. "Masters is right. We shouldn't merely focus on Buckingham though considering the numbers we are dealing with."

"Not to mention we're also dealing with the Catholics." Another member of the Division said. There were numerous murmurs at this point before Lycos spoke again.

"Agreed. Then here is what we'll do..." He began, speaking and explaining a plan of action. Surprisingly, no one questioned his judgement which puzzled the normal officers there. Seras and the other Elite knew better than to question the plans of the man seemingly now in charge; they had seen him work before. The man although most likely the weakest in the Elite Division, was an unparalleled genius when it came to tactics dealing with the undead.

Seras mostly remained quiet in the discussion but merely listened as Lycos laid out a plan of attack that was consistent with what she was thinking. It basically consisted of the Division S members and a limited number of common soldiers heading towards Buckingham Palace while the remainder of Hellsing's forces would split up and attack the other enemy controlled areas. Seras knew that the plan had its faults, but they were working with a limited number of resources and they couldn't afford to put all their eggs in one basket. Finally she spoke, interrupting the man in mid sentence. "The other attacks will commence before our own on Buckingham Palace. It will attract the media to the other locations and distract the enemy from our true purpose."

Lycos nodded in agreement. "I agree. However do you think we'll be able to take Buckingham, or for that matter, any of these key locations? We don't have any real information on the actual numbers of the enemy."

Seras finally opened her eyes, "I can't say anything about the other locations but our primary objective will be in Buckingham. I know it." The room chilled slightly at her words, but no one really wanted to know 'exactly' how the vampire knew. She slowly raised her head and overlooked the gathered forces in the briefing room. "Let me clarify something: As much as I hate the concept, Lysandra's demise is not our primary objective."

Flynn raised his eyebrow before questioning, "The hell are you on Draculina?"

Seras continued, knowing full well that she had the attention of everyone gathered. "Our primary objective is to recover the artifact. While that is still in Lysandra's possession, I doubt it will be possible to kill her. Killing her comes later."

The man in the red suit shrugged before asking in a bored voice, "So what's this thing look like?"

Seras smirked before saying, "I have never actually seen it."

Lycos frowned at that, "Then we can't go searching for it. We should continue as planned, leave the artifact to the Catholics." Seras looked at him for a moment as if to disagree but then only nodded her consent. She then began to examine each of the men that were in the room, preparing for battle.

Her eyes quickly bypassed Christopher and the normal Hellsing officers that were in the room. _They will be useful but not against the pure bloods. Only those with the skills of the Elite will really able to compete against Lysandra and her true servants._ Her eyes then locked on each member of Division S that were gathered around the map.

Her eyes first landed on Xavier Flynn. He wasn't looking at her, instead he seemed to be playing with a deck of cards, shuffling them quickly in his hands as he stared at the map with slight interest. Seras knew better though, he was looking forward to the carnage that would ensue at Buckingham. She could understand it though; it was quite rare that this many members of the Elite worked together in one operation.

Her eyes then met the man wearing the dark red suit. Albert Masters was an enigma to her, she actually didn't know anything about him really besides his special ability to manipulate blood. Sanders had told her that he had not known of it until he had gone to the facility but that he worked himself to insane lengths in order to use it effectively. Something that was very surprising to all those who knew of his prowess since it seemed he often used blood faster than a human body could create it. Production, circulation, coagulation, transportation of nutrients; he needed to consciously control it all while in battle. She often suspected that was the reason why the man always looked as if he was concentrating deeply when he was fighting. After all, while unconscious thought of these activities may have been handled automatically by his body, when using the blood to form weapons or remove the heads of enemies it could not be easy to do. His brown hair often hung down in front of his face, only tied back when in battle to reveal a specialist unlike any other.

Next was the warding specialist and their top hand to hand combat specialist. The man was leaning against the wall, listening with his eyes closed, much how he did usually. Jin Kazama, another one she knew little about. His recruitment to the organization was unexpected as well. Much in the same manner as Flynn, he was found after he had cleared the freaks out a medium sized town in Japan, towards the southern edge of the Hokkaido region. She, as well as some other soldiers of Hellsing, had been sent there in order to investigate the emergence of freak vampires on request from the foreign minister. When they entered the area, they were surprised to say the least when the saw a single man sleeping against a building wall, an old sword propped up against the wall next to him. While it was surprising to say the least, what was more surprising was that the blade was mere steel, not silver. This was a huge difference from when she had met Xavier years later. Basically rather than knowing of the effectiveness of silver against the undead and taking advantage he had chosen a far more simple method; pretty much any creature will die without its head. After an one-sided conversation with the mysterious mute man, he returned with them to join Hellsing.

He eyes then skipped over the few officers that were standing around the map discussing with Agent Lycos. She already knew plenty about their strategist, she had been the one to recruit him after all. He was formerly a member of English Naval intelligence who had shown remarkable skills in planning covert operations. Naturally, such skills would be useful to an organization that did its work completely in shadows. Of course it took much to convince him what the Royal Protestant Knights actually did, but he eventually joined when the concept of early retirement and incredibly large benefits were offered. That was the only part she really disliked about the man; he was a genius, and trained by the facility to be skilled, but he had no real motivation for his job other than to stay alive long enough to retire. _Can't blame him though, he's one of the few who haven't lost anyone to the other side._

She smirked oddly as the thought crossed her head. Most of the members of Division S were there because they had lost someone precious to them to vampires, freak or otherwise. Hatred was a powerful motivator, and one that the Hellsing institution had learned to take advantage of. _I supposed thats somewhat twisted but then again the end justifies the means._

Her eyes left Lycos to move on to the man with black hair who was standing next to him, pointing out a few locations on the map and adding some of his own words into the plan. She frowned at his presence but said nothing. Jacob Williams was an arrogant son of a bitch in Victoria's mind. He remained silent most of the time due to his occupation, that of a sniper, but Victoria often read his thoughts and scowled at his feelings of superiority. Then again, she always assumed that all men who were capable of taking someone out from miles away in silence felt that way. This was possibly why he was one of the few people that Xavier Flynn didn't annoy; it wasn't wise to jerk someone around who could put a bullet in your skull from over three miles away. While this may had seemed odd in a war against the undead, the man was probably one of the best snipers in the world. He was able to take out targets with amazing accuracy before even vampires could see him, but that is not where the organization primary used his skills. He was mostly used in border disputes with Iscariot or other underhanded things that were buried in the underbelly of the organization. Secret or not, the Hellsing institution had many enemies, and ironically whenever it was decided to eliminate one of these, Williams was sent in. He had a great talent for making people... disappear.

She scoffed under her breath as she noticed that he realized she was watching him. She then scanned the next man and almost chuckled. James Hawthorne was an interesting character to Seras. While he was a force to be reckoned with, he often acted even more childish than Flynn. He wore the same suit as the others but often wore random other pieces of clothing as if bored with how he looked. Sometimes it would be a headband or sunglasses, other times it would be a strange sash or scarf around his shoulders, as if cold. At the current moment, he was actually wearing a pair of leather bands around his left and right biceps as he drank from a bottle of water in his hand. His twin holsters were at his hips, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice, along with his own quick reload mechanism he designed. While inventive, the man acted like a hyperactive brat when he wasn't on a mission, which somewhat amused Seras but also annoyed her when it was her who had to deal with it. When he was in battle however it was as if he was a different person, speaking only when necessary and left numerous empty shell casings in his wake.

She blinked before asking out loud, "Where are Brey and Shaffer?" There was an odd silence before Christopher spoke.

"We lost contact with them about twenty minutes ago. They had come under fire on their way here. They said they were following procedures..." Christopher's voice died off as did the rest of the conversations in the room. While the normal officers looked confused, the Division S members and Seras frowned at the statement.

Seras cursed under her breath. _Normal procedures have agents carrying small bombs attached to them somehow that need to be disabled every hour otherwise they explode until an unlock code in punched in. If they were following that, it means that they weren't sure they were going to win._ It was an old tactic, but one that had held on from the beginning days of Division S. Agents when on a high class mission would wear bombs that needed a coded sequence to deactivate, one that only they and the upper echelons of Hellsing knew. The thought was should they fall and become mindless ghouls, the bombs would still blow, therefore rending any ghouls or vampires nearby to be processed as scattered flesh. It was a chaotic system in nature, Seras knew, but many of the agents still used it in order to make sure they didn't become weapons against their own kind.

Fylnn broke the odd silence and asked, "Where's your boyfriend babe? Wasn't he with you at the manor?" He held an amused grin, despite the strange glances that everyone in the room was giving, save Seras. No, she was giving him a murderous one.

She only said one word. "Albert?" It was a obvious request, at least to those who had worked with the woman before. Without any sound, Agent Masters quickly gave Flynn a fast backhand to the face, knocking the man back and causing him to drop the deck of cards that was in his hand. "Thank you Albert." She said with a smirk on her face.

The man smirked back beneath his bangs, his eyes idly watching Flynn bend over to pick up his scattered cards. "No problem."

Seras then answered the question, "He's currently wandering the grounds, probably taking a look at the quality of the soldiers today." She then smirked, _probably scaring the shit out of them _too. She then looked to Lycos who was looking at her strangely in confusion as to who she was talking about. "Give out the orders to the normal detachments. We need to discuss our attack on Buckingham in more depth, especially if the whole Division is going in."

Lycos nodded before finishing up his orders to the officers. They quickly saluted and then left the room, leaving the suited men in a state of seriousness that had not been there moments ago. Lycos spoke up, "Everyone take a seat, we'll need to plan our entrance routes." Without any more words, the remainder of the people in the room grabbed a seat around the table that had been sitting in the center of the room the whole time. Lycos walked over and with his free hand quickly unrolled several blueprints of the royal palace. He spread them out to the best of his ability before speaking again. "I've never really been here before so I don't really know the layout, anyone care to comment?"

Seras looked over the blueprints in mild interest and pointed out a few routes that headed towards the center of the building. No one else really added much after that, most were trying to figure out their own routes. Finally Christopher spoke up, "You'll all be wearing radio pieces and you will proceed in pairs. Agent Lycos will remain here in order to facilitate both the main attack as well as the others."

Hawthorne raised an eyebrow in confusion before answering, "that still leaves us an odd number." He stated the simple fact as it was unknown to the rest, causing at least two of the other members in the room to grab their heads as if a headache was coming on. Then he seemed to smile in understanding, like a child who had discovered some big secret, "Or is Seras working with us this time?"

Seras bit her lip to keep from calling the man a fool before Lycos spoke. "Williams will remain outside of the palace." He turned to face the sniper before saying, "Find a spot where you won't be found or attacked. Take a pair of normal soldiers with you for backup. You're our eyes and ears from the outside. You'll be the relay point for all critical information and feel free to take pop shots at you leisure. " The last part of that was said with some degree of sarcasm.

Williams only nodded with what seemed like disinterest before Seras spoke. "To answer your question, I will not be paired up with any of you. My partner and I will head directly towards our prey. The rest of you can proceed as you will, just don't get in our way."

At this Williams raised an eyebrow and asked, "You partner? Since when did you work as part of a team?"

Seras merely shot the man a glare before leaning back in her chair and chuckling slightly. "Before any of you were even born kiddo." She said in a mocking tone of voice.

Lycos and the others looked at her in confusion before a voice spoke up from behind them. "So these are those humans on par with those dogs of Iscariot that you mentioned?" Within an instant, all eyes had shot behind Lycos, and with the exception of Seras and Christopher, had drawn weapons ready to attack. Even the one armed Lycos held a nine millimeter pistol in his free hand, pointing it directly at the speaker who seemed to have appeared from no where. Standing in front of Lycos was a man with dark hair, wearing odd red clothes that seemed not from this time period mixed with a red trenchcoat and wearing a pair of dark yellow sunglasses. He had a evil looking smirk on his face as glasses fell down to the brim of his nose, "They don't look like much. Puny little humans it seems."

A few noticed his red eyes and were about to attack before Seras spoke up, breaking their intentions. "Alucard, you really shouldn't do shit like that. You'll give the poor little humans heart attacks." She said mockingly, ignoring the few glares being sent her way.

He shrugged as he watched the Division S members slowly relax in his presence. He slowly began walking around the table, the smirk still remaining on his face. "You're really enjoying this aren't you my dear. Turning this into a miniature war it seems." He the paused as he stood next to Flynn and looked down at him.

Flynn looked back at the vampire, his weapon now relaxed but a smirk remained on his face. He raised his hand as if to wave and said in an amused voice, "Yo!"

Alucard's smirk only widened as he sent a thought to Seras. _I really do like this human. He could prove quite amusing._ Seras shivered at that thought, or rather the thoughts of the two of them teaming up. _Don't even think about it _she sent back with a glare. Alucard then held out his hand and said to the silver stringer. "Give it here."

Flynn looked confused for a split second before shrugging. "I was gonna sell copies of that too..." He said in a disappointed voice as he reached into his suit pocket and withdrew a single photo. He gave it to Alucard who was smiling evilly now and laughed softly as he brought the photo to his own eyes.

Seras watched in mild interest as she watched her former master remove his sunglasses as if to confirm what he was seeing in the photo. He then chuckled darkly as he continued walking around the table towards Seras. He then flicked the picture onto the table and said with much amusement, "You have excellent taste Mr. Flynn." The picture landed and Seras couldn't help but groan as she saw that it was one of the pictures of her wearing the red dress on that doomed bet of a dinner she lost to the gambling freak. Several members at the table first blinked in shock but then most of them began chuckling under their breath, afraid of laughing out loud fully or receive a taste of Victoria's anger.

Flynn merely smirked once again, "Heh, if you weren't a blood sucker I'd think we'd make excellent drinking buddies." He said with slight amusement, enjoying how mortified Victoria looked .

Seras voice finally came up again, "When this shit is over I'm going to beat the piss out of you two, you do realize that don't you?"

The two exchanged glances before wearing identical smirks and answering simultaneously. "It'd be worth it." It took every once of Seras' will control to not stand up and start pounding on the two of them at that moment.

"As amusing as that whole scene was, back to business..." Lycos began, not even trying to hide his grin. Alucard merely looked up and shrugged as he walked over to stand against the wall, tilting his head forward as if not caring what was to be said. "I'm assuming he's your partner then?" Lycos asked Seras.

She took a calming breath before she reached over and grabbed the photo on the table. "That's correct. Leave Lysandra to us, none of you will pose any threat to her." She held the photo in her hand for a moment before crunching it into a small ball and setting it ablaze with some of her power. She paused for a moment as she shot Alucard a glance and said in a softer tone of voice, "Hell, even I may not be a match. That's why he's here." She said, pointing lazily at the man in red. She then looked towards him and asked, "What took you so long? There weren't that many freaks at the manor." She remarked, remembering how she had left him there and merely told him to do as he pleased.

Alucard merely gave a sadistic grin and asked, "Do you really want to know my dear?"

Seras blinked once before shaking her head. "Sadistic bastard."

Lycos once again coughed before laying out their plans. There were going to basically be three main entrance routes, each being breached by a pair from the Elite and a number of common soldiers. Seras and Alucard were to come from the South and take the most direct route towards the throne room, the center of the structure. The common assumption was that they would end up cutting a path straight through the enemy. Flynn and Hawthorne were paired to entered from the West, Jin and Masters from the East.

"We don't need any common soldiers. Take them and split them between your groups." Seras said casually. She then looked at the clock on the wall and asked, "When can we start this?"

Christopher spoke, "As soon as the remaining forces get to their own positions which should take only another hour. They can begin their attack and we can then proceed afterwards."

Lycos nodded in agreement. "Christopher, contact the Iscariots and inform them of our movements. I'm sure they'll want a piece of the enemy thats at Buckingham as well." Christopher only nodded in agreement to that statement.

Masters coldly chuckled under his breath. "Looks like bloods gonna flow tonight boys."

Hawthorne merely grinned, "What are the odds here Wildcard? Whats the spread I gotta beat?" The man asked excitedly.

Flynn merely chuckled, "For you? Well... seeing how you're so unskilled... three." Williams merely chuckled at the insult while Hawthorne seemed ready to explode on Flynn. Flynn only chuckled in response and turned to Masters and Williams. "Gentlemen, shall we start placing the bets now?"

Masters let out a small grin while Williams scoffed under his breath. "I know better to make bets with you Wildcard."

Masters chuckled and added, "Try not to bring down the whole building this time Wildcard. Its been around for a long time after all."

Flynn merely shrugged as he began twirling a coin between his fingers, continuing to ignore Hawthorne's ranting about how he was better than him. "I make no promises gentlemen. It's all up to good ol' lady luck." He then reached into his wallet and withdrew an American hundred dollar bill and waved it in the air. "I say I take down the most down."

Hawthorne merely grinned at the chance to show his skills and withdrew a eighty pound note, the equivalence of one hundred and fifty American dollars. "I'll take that bet Wildcard. Care to raise?" He said with a small smirk.

Masters spoke up, "I'll match that and raise you twenty pounds kid." He said as he began reaching for his own wallet.

Flynn merely grinned at the increase in the betting pool. He then said in an amused voice, somewhat sounding like an old carnival man. "Gather 'round, gather 'round. Place your bets, place your bets ladies and gentlemen." The other members merely shook their heads at the display as the bets began to fill out.

Seras merely watched this all in silence before standing and walking away, phasing into the shadows on her way out. No one seemed to notice or care about her departure, most of them somewhat expecting it to occur already. Alucard followed her example shortly after, a smirk on his face at watching the antics of the lunatics that were the Hellsing Institution's elite hunters.

-

Seras merely laid back on the roof of the building that their forces were hiding out in. She sighed as she closed her eyes and it almost appeared as if she was sleeping before she spoke, "Crazy bunch that group. Something tells me you'll enjoy working with 'em."

The elder vampire merely chuckled as he sat next to his former ward. "You really think I'm insane don't you?"

She opened her eyes to look at him with one eyebrow raised. "You gonna try to say that you're not?" She asked in a surprised voice.

He laughed, a horse and dark laugh, before answering her with a smirk. "Of course not. Insanity is merely enjoying what others don't. I have no problems with that."

She chuckled slightly at the comment before speaking in a far away voice. "The Shadow Division. The Hellsing Institution's group of secret elite hunters that on par with the members of Section XIII, the Iscariot forces." She sighed once more before continuing, "It became necessary to force/train a group like that after you were sealed. Hellsing was merely too weak to stand on its own during those times."

Alucard raised a questioning eyebrow. "Integra?"

She shook her head. "No, her son Alfred. It was his idea after another one of those blasted regenerators cleaved through several of our teams."

Alucard nodded before stating, "I wish I had been to one to take that fool Anderson's blood. He was one of the more interesting dogs from Italy."

Seras chuckled and mockingly apologize, "I'm sorry oh great one. You shouldn't complain though, you were the one who told me to kill him as part of my training." She sat up and tilted her head back towards the moon. "It seems that shortly after your sealing they stopped using whatever techniques they used to create those blasted regenerators. The Church Paladin went silent until only a few years ago it seems."

"Must have been boring." He remarked as if not really listening to her. She looked over to see that he was also staring into the night sky, as if thinking about something totally unrelated.

She shrugged before reaching toward her belt and withdrawing a normal knife. She flicked the blade open and cut her forearm, drawing the attention of the elder vampire. She held out her arm and said, "Drink. I think you'll get a kick out of my memories of the past century. Hell, there might be some stuff in there that'll make even you pale."

He only laughed as he brought her arm to his mouth and said, "I highly doubt that my dear." He then began drinking as much of the blood that was flowing down her healing arm as he could.

She only sighed, ignoring the odd sensations that ran up her arm as her former master indulged in her blood. _Easiest way to catch him up. I should've just offered back at the mansion._ She then frowned and turned her head to see that he was still drinking. Her eyebrow twitched as she watched the elder vampire and she said in an annoyed tone of voice, "Hey, I said you could see my memories not have a snack."

The elder vampire merely chuckled at her annoyed voice.

-

Father Perigrin stood before the gathered men with a resolute determination that framed his face. He was still angered at releasing a stronger being of evil but knew that should the chance arrive that he would take his head in addition to the head of Victoria. He growled under his breath as the visions of his defeat at her hands and her supposed 'mercy' floated through his mind's eye.

He shook his head before glaring out over the gathered Iscariots. He had received confirmation of Hellsing's attack plans and was merely waiting to give out the order to engage. But that was not what was plaguing his mind at the moment. No, at his moment he only was thinking about the words that had come from his excellency, Father Venelli.

_"It's not as bad as we originally thought in regards to the situation." The messenger told him as Perigrin merely stared at him in interest. "We are still to proceed as planned, to aid Hellsing with the removal of the pure blood and recover the artifact. However there is a secondary objective that has been handed down as well."_

_Perigrin raised an eyebrow, "And that would be?"_

_The messenger continued, "The elimination of Seras Victoria."_

_"What? After years of being told to let her do as she pleases, her death sentence is handed down now?" Perigrin asked in confusion._

_The messenger merely stared the man in the eye before saying. "Since when do you question the orders of his excellency?"_

_Perigrin looked shocked for a moment before bowing his head. "My apologies. But it seems strange to do it now."_

_The messenger nodded before speaking again, "The situation is not as hazardous as we originally thought but it is still serious. There is a prophecy that revolves around the power of the Devil's Bane that could only be used by a strong darkness. Father Venelli thinks it is still questionable but if the Bloody Countess cannot be eliminated, then the vampire Seras Victoria must be destroyed before they come into contact. If this is not followed then the consequences could possibly be disastrous to this country."_

_With those final words Matthew Perigrin merely nodded and said, "It shall be done."_

Now he stared out over the gathering of hunters who were waiting for orders. A devilish grin covered his face as he welcomed the coming challenge, both with their true enemy and the Hellsing forces. He unsheathed his sword and held it high in the sky and then said his final words to those who he had been given command of.

"Saint Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And may thou, Prince of the heavenly host, by the divine power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and the evil spirits who prowl the world for the ruin of souls. Amen." The gathered Iscariots merely raised their own weapons in agreement before Perigrin turned from them.

"Let us dance, agents of darkness. It is time that the infidels once again learn to fear the name Iscariot..."


	23. Chapter 22

Well, I finally finished the first part of the battle. More is to come but it shall be split up due to the nature of the fights I've been picturing in my mind. Ought to be interesting once it all converges as planned.

Last installment before I start playing Xenosaga 2, so you probably won't see another for a while.

**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Invasion of Buckingham Palace**

"Les jeux sont faits. Translation: the game is up. Your ass is mine."

Seras found herself standing on top of a large building in the city of London. She was glaring down towards the chaotic streets with a frown of anger and discontent before trailing her rage-filled gaze towards Buckingham Palace in the distance. Below her in the streets were overturned cars and burning wrecks. Bodies were torn apart all over the streets as people panicked in the chaos that had followed from the freak attack. Seras cursed mentally, _No, they had no idea what was happening. They cut a direct trail straight to the palace it seems. The general populace was completely caught off guard._ She felt her hands clenching into tight fists at her side as a voice came over the ear piece she was wearing. "This is Wildcard. Hawk and I are in position." His voice sounded amused as if anticipating what was to come. She had no doubt that by now Hawthorne had become his serious self, preparing for battle like he had in the past.

Another voice crackled in her ear, "This is Redcoat. Mutey and I are ready to go. What about you Crackshot?" Master's voice asked of the sniper. The blood user and the silent swordsman were their team of close combat specialists, although Masters could do things from a distance if he wished.

Seras asked a question directed to the blood user. "Redcoat, have you taken your supplements yet?"

"Roger that. I used one injection no less than six minutes ago. It should last me for a while."

Wildcard's voice came through the link. "You know, that shit can't be good for your body." He plainly remarked, though it was obvious that there was humor present in his voice.

"Is anything we do healthy Wildcard? Besides, I can filter it if I need to."

Williams' voice came through. "I've got myself a lovely view of the palace. It already looks chaotic. It looks like the Catholics jumped the gun. I have Iscariots coming in from the North side, cutting down anything in their path."

"That's fine. It will draw attention to them. Are you in position Draculina?" Lycos' voice came through, oddly serious and cold.

Seras raised her hand to the transmitter before speaking, "We will enter shortly. Just say the word and the South will be taken." She lowered her hand, disregarding any chatter that was in response to her statement before she spoke. "Ready, my master?"

She knew that Alucard wasn't there with her moments before but it seemed as if he appeared from the shadows to answer her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "Of course. I haven't had any fun for a long time. This should prove entertaining."

She smirked at his words, knowing full well that he was grinning ear to ear, even though she couldn't see it. "Let's go then. It's time I got my revenge as well." And with those words the two vampires vanished into the darkness, fully intent on destroying all that opposed them within.

It was only then that Seras heard the command over the radio, "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen."

-

Williams couldn't help but smirk as he watched through his scope the East and West walls of Buckingham explode, courtesy of a few well thrown grenades. He watched as he saw the soldiers preparing to enter but being held back by the machine gun fire of some freak vampires. Without so much as breathing, he took aim and fired off ten shots at the hole in the Eastern Wall. Although he couldn't see the freaks fall, the fact that the gunfire dropped significantly was answer enough for him. He slowly breathed out, removing the current cartridge for his custom CZ 700M1 sniper rifle and replacing it with a new one. He heard a voice over his ear piece, "Nice shooting Crackshot. Thanks for the assist."

"No problem Redcoat. You and Mutely should hurry up or you'll lose that bet to Wildcard. I don't have a clear shot at the Western 'entrance' that he made."

He heard Masters chuckle on the other end. "Take out those bastards on the roof while you're at it then watch the South."

Williams peered through the scope and saw the freak vampires on the roof shooting down at the approaching Hellsing soldiers. He noticed that they were on all sides of the building, aiming downwards. _So they're shooting at the Catholics as well as Draculina and the others..._ "Understood. Kick some ass Redcoat." He said as he fired off three rounds, removing some of the freaks on the edge roof that were shooting down at the Hellsing soldiers coming in from the East.

"Roger that Crackshot."

"While you're at it, take care of those bastards shooting at us too!" Wildcard's voice rang through the communication causing Williams to snicker. Wildcard apparently heard this and added, "You don't want me chucking my favorite explosives up there do ya?"

Williams repositioned his rifle and fired several more shots. "Cool your jets Wildcard, no need to destroy something with some much English history you damn Yankee."

He heard Flynn's voice scoffed through the link. "Aw shaddup ya damn Brit. We did kick your asses back in the day and bailed you damn Brits out during WW2, so don't give me that crap."

Williams couldn't help but chuckle before taking a few more shots. It was then that Lycos' voice cut through. "Gentlemen, let's not clutter up communication lines like this. Do as planned and eliminate as many as you can."

"Roger that." Came the three voices all as one as Williams once again began reaching for another cartridge for his rifle.

-

Deep within the palace a trio of figures watched the security monitors showing the invasion from the North, East, and West. They remained silent as the Vatican special forces tore through their defenses with what seemed like little problems. Similar scenes were shown coming from the Hellsing soldiers, but unlike the elegant and graceful fighting that was coming from the Iscariots, the Hellsing soldiers were going out of their way to ensure destruction.

"So it has begun." The first figure, the one in the middle said. Her voice was somewhat musical, a soft consonance present in her voice.

"Indeed. Though I do not see the pure blood slaves of Hellsing. That worries me." Came the voice of Lorenz as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. His red eyes glared towards the West entrance, watching in idle amusement as the Hellsing agent who had taken his arm before was creating havoc across their freak forces.

"Like it matters. I doubt either of them could match up against you or Master, Lorenz." Kylie spoke as she twiddled the fingers of her right hand over her Colt Single Action Army pistol. She almost cursed audibly at the praise she had given to the one she really hated, but knew after her failure against Seras Victoria that she shouldn't claim to be able to kill either of those pure bloods. The fact that Lorenz had to save her still burned in her like a stake of pure silver driven into her pride.

"Patience my dear, you'll have another chance. I'm sure of it." The first figure spoke again, laughing lightly at her servant's anger at their enemies.

Lorenz merely nodded but still spoke. "But 'he' has been unsealed... It could prove troublesome."

"Fear not my servant, I knew it would happen. Although I'm somewhat surprised that it took the death of their leader before they took such actions. I must give you some praise for that move Lorenz."

He bowed his head, "You speak too highly of me, my Master."

She laughed at that, her voice sounding like tinkling bells. "As for this puny 'strike-force', I trust you two to take care of it. Fear not about Seras Victoria or her former Master and just concentrate on eliminating these pests."

Both vampires bowed their heads and said in once voice, "As you wish Master." And with those words they vanished into the darkness, leaving their master alone as she watched the screens that showed the approach the Hellsing operatives.

She laughed once more before rising to her feet and reaching for a small rapier in a sheath at her side. "It has been a long time... my 'husband .' I only hope your newest wife is capable of entertaining me."

-

As he had done many times in his past, Xavier Flynn was grinning like a madman as he hid behind some cover as bullets whizzed by his head. He had a grenade in his hands as he looked to his right to see Hawthorne frowning at him. _This guy is never any fun inside of battle..._ Xavier almost pouted as he popped the pin and threw the explosive towards the source of the gunfire. There was a deafening explosion and Flynn and Hawthorne exchanged nods before dashing out from their shelter, their subordinates following behind Hawthorne. Flynn whipped his threads out towards the smoke that had covered the air from the explosion, the silver strings looking for victims. Hawthorne revealed his dual pistols as he fired with such rapidity that he was forced to eject the clips. Before the clips even hit the floor, he had slammed his pistols against his belt's reloading mechanism, inserting two brand new clips before once again bringing the pistol up and crossing them before unleashing several bullets into the nearest freak.

The advance of the normal soldiers wasn't nearly as impressive. They followed what seemed like Swat tactics, acting in teams and clearing out rooms. The two elite agents didn't bother to even watch over them; they were too busy eliminating the enemy in their own ways.

Flynn couldn't help himself as he began laughing manically as he wrapped his threads around a pair of freaks who were back to back, trying to make sense out of the chaos. With one quick tug, the threads shredded the two with little resistance. Flynn noticed another freak approaching him from the side with a long sawed knife and without missing a beat he reached with his other hand towards the gun held at his hip. Without even trying, he spun slightly as he brought the firearm up and fired three times, the first bullet missing, the second catching the freak in the neck, and the third catching him between the eyes. He couldn't help but smirk as he watched the knife fall to the ground, the piles of dust ever growing as the two Hellsing operatives continued to clean house from the West.

Hawthorne didn't let Flynn's seemingly insane antics bother him as he continued to focus on the enemies, unleashing a hell storm of bullets that would have made a chain gun proud. Neither really thought of anything more than staying alive, despite the act of insanity that Flynn put out. They both knew that the attack was just beginning and the night was still young.

-

Jin remained silent as per his custom and style as he slashed once again, his silver katana easily ripping through the pair of freaks that had charged him. His face was neutral, as if the insane battle raging all around him didn't faze him in the slightest. In all honesty, it didn't but that doesn't really matter. He quickly spun his body, shoving his blade backwards into the chest of a freak that had sneaked up behind him. He remained there, his eyes locked in grueling concentration as he watched the freaks begin to reach for their guns.

Masters was the first to react, cursing slightly at his Japanese counterpart for being so eager. He quickly pulled a grenade similar to the kind that Flynn was known for using before pulling the pin and letting it fly. "Fire in the hole!" He yelled to his companion as he ducked his head, reaching for one of his small knives that hung at his belt. Jin took the warning in earnest and dove to the side, ducking behind a corner in the hallway as the blast went off. The freaks never saw what was coming, as Masters raced forward, a silver knife in each hand. He quickly threw one knife at a freak that bringing his weapon to aim. The knife flew through the air until it entered the freak's throat, causing the vampire to slowly disintegrate, undeniable pain written on his face. Noticing that the others were reacting similarly, he cursed as he dove into a doorway, landing in a roll before he dashed forward into the room, which was mostly bare except for a small desk. He dove over the desk and ducked behind it as bullet's peppered the wall over him.

He frowned as he saw that the bullets were still coming, showing that Jin and the human soldiers that were accompanying him were preoccupied at the moment. _I really hate working on these teams. Nearly one of us here is equipped for handling firearms at this scale. Looks like I'll have to bleed a little._ He smirked as he took the knife that he was still holding in his left hand and stabbed it deep throat the palm of his right hand. He cursed loudly in pain before yanking the blade out. He watched the blood flowing freely from the wound and closed his hand into a fist. He closed his eyes and concentrated, ignoring as bullets began to rip through parts of the desk. _Clog faster dammit..._ He then opened his eyes and slid out to the side of the desk, flinging his right fist at the doorway, as if throwing a baseball. _Take that you undead scum! Try that for a snack!_

The freaks had no idea what hit them as the hardened blood ripped through their bodies. Two died instantly as the hardened liquid slashed through their necks, but the others merely staggered back from the unexpected blow. One vampire reached down to touch where he had been hit and found himself touching something wet. He raised his fingers to his nose to smell the sweet scent that he had only recently come to crave. "Blood?" He asked confused, his fellow freaks that had survived the attack giving him an odd glare. It was only then that the blood touching the man's fingers began to sizzle, feeling as if his fingers were burning off from the rest of his hand. The area where he had taken the hit before also began to burn and he turned to look at his companions to try to understand when he noticed similar grimaces of pain on their faces. _The hell?_

They didn't have long to contemplate it as something red and sharp thrusted into the hallway, catching one of them directly in the heart. He screamed in agony before collapsing into a pile of dust. The other two that were there looked dumbfounded as the red suited man quickly spun, the red blade slashing through the neck of the nearest freak, separating his head from the rest of his body. The man then threw a punch with his left hand, catching the last freak in the fast, sending him back a few steps.

The freak growled angrily as he snarled back at the human who had struck him. He quickly raised his machine gun to fire when it felt as if a breeze went past him. He gasped in shock as the barrel of the weapon in his hands slid from the rest of the gun before feeling his legs vanish on him. He felt to his back in pain before he felt something poking at his throat. The vampire looked up in a stupor at his captor, the red suited man who had thrown blood, of all things, at them earlier. The man was holding a small silver knife in his left hand but was amazed the freak was the red blade that protruded from the man's right palm. He sniffed once before his eyes widened, "Blood?" He asked, completely confused.

Masters merely twisted his right wrist, sending the coagulated blade through the freak's neck, severing it from the rest of the body. "That's right scum." He hissed out as he turned from the pile of dust. He noticed that Jin was finishing up a pair of his own prey so instead of waiting, Masters tossed the knife that was in his left hand. It struck one of the freaks directly in the back of the skull, killing it instantly. The shock distracted the other long enough for Jin to send a vertical upward slash that cut the freak into left and right parts.

Jin slowly sheathed his blade before walking next to his partner, giving a nod in thanks for the assistance. Masters only nodded before addressing the men that were setting up defensive positions in the hallway. Masters quickly pointed down a series of hallways. "You men go that way, the rest of you to the second. We'll take the third, proceed with caution."

The soldiers quickly voiced their acknowledgment of orders. "Yes sir!" They cried out before carrying out as ordered. Masters merely sighed before closing his eyes and concentrating once again. The jagged red blade slowly receded back into his right palm and Jin watched with idle fascination as the wound their began to coagulate and close. With a deep sigh, Masters opened his eyes and frowned. _At least its getting easier to do. I still can't make it my main offense yet but its becoming easier and easier to manipulate it... Besides those silver supplements only last for about an hour at a time. I should start bringing more than three doses._ He then turned to Jin and nodded towards the final hallway with his head.

Jin only nodded in understanding before walking forward, taking point as the red suited agent reaching for another pair of his throwing knives. Masters only took a deep breath as he brought them into position, preparing to fling. _Why is it that I feel like the cow entering the slaughterhouse?_

Even if he had voiced his question, his companion would not had answered him, despite a similar feeling racing through his entire being.

-

"Hey, who's attacking us?" A freak asked his companion nervously as his eyes darted back and forth around the South Gate. There was a small detachment of freaks there that had been ordered to remain there while the rest went to kill those attacking from elsewhere.

The second freak merely shrugged, his machine gun being help up with his left hand over his shoulder. "Who knows? They'll be dead soon anyway. They have to be insane to try and take us with our numbers."

The first freak raised an eyebrow before asking, "What if its that Hellsing group? They're supposed to vampire hunters or something."

The second looked to his partner as if he was daft. "You believe that myth? Personally, I think that whole institution of hunters is something Lorenz made up to keep us in line or something."

A third freak shook his head, "Yeah, they were even supposed to have vampires working for them too. What kind of vampire would help those humans?"

Another voice finally shot into their little argument, breaking it up in a panic. "Hey, what's that?" The small detachment raised their eyes to where the man was pointing. Walking slowly towards them in the distance were two figures. It looked like one was tall, wearing dark red clothing while the other looking shorter and wearing dark blue clothing. "Who the hell?" He asked with a degree of heavy confusion.

The first freak's eyes widened as he saw them approaching. "Hey, hey..."

The second merely scoffed. "Who cares. Let's just waste 'em when they get close enough!" He declared as if already tired of the whole affair.

It was at that point that the group must have blinked. It seemed like it could be the only explanation to them as the two that seemed so far away only moments before were now walking past them in disinterest. The small detachment blinked in confusion at first before turning around and preparing to fire. "Who the hell are you?" One of them cried out.

The two figures, now easily identifiable as a black haired man in a flowing blood red trenchcoat and brown haired woman wearing a similar dark blue trenchcoat, stopped in their step. The woman seemed to let a heavy sigh before saying, "Just wait. We'll be back to kill you in a bit. You aren't worth our time."

The one in red remarked rather casually, "I don't think they'll listen." The other shrugged, as if she didn't care either way.

The freaks growled out before opening fire on the two. They watched as they filled the man's body with bullets before it fell to the ground in a heap. A few of them smirked, mumbling out things like, "idiot..." and other various insults. Only one noticed that the brown haired woman wasn't there anymore.

"The hell?" He asked, taking a few steps and poking the body on the ground with his shotgun. He then asked the question that had been bothering him. "Where the hell did the other one go?" It was only then that they heard dark laughter. They began looking around in panic, trying to find the source. "Where the hell is it coming from?"

"You worthless maggots. It's an insult that you even 'think' yourselves true vampires. It makes me sick." Alucard's voice floating as mist began to slowly form around his supposed corpse. Within moments he rose back to his feet, the Cassul and the Jackal raised. "Be gone from my sight you trash." Alucard ordered harshly as his yellow sunglasses slid down his nose slightly.

The gunfire was short and sweet as Alucard fired a chain of bullets. The freak with the shotgun was the only one still standing, and was now trembling in complete and utter fear as Alucard glared him down. He felt someone grab his gun and he twisted his head just in time to see the woman behind him slam her hand through his chest. It turns out that the last thing he would see would be her look of total and utter disdain through those dark purple sunglasses.

Seras adjusted the shotgun in her hand before spitting once into the dust that had gathered. "Well, I guess they can die now after all."

Alucard merely grinned as he holstered his guns. "All meet the reaper when the bell tolls. Some sooner than others..." He then let out a dark chuckle as if the statement was incredibly amusing.

Seras merely glared at him before sighing. She shook her head a few times before reaching down to grab the bandoleer of shotgun shells from the dust pile in front of her. "You really are a insane psycho..."

He only chuckled before his eyes locked on her choice of weaponry. "Trying to compensate for something my dear?" He asked is slight amusement before pushing the glasses back up on his nose.

Without warning she aimed the shotgun directly against the man's crotch and said, "Don't annoy me Alucard. I can be annoying too if I want, and I don't care if you can grow them back, it'll still hurt like hell." She bore a small smirk on her face that seemed to ask him to try her patience.

He only smirked back before turning away. "Your spunk and fire is as intense as before my dear. Come, let us have some fun. I'm heading ahead of you." He then chuckled darkly before vanishing into shadows.. Seras merely shook her head before cocking the shotgun once and walking towards the South entrance, a small amused smile on her face.

When she entered the dark corridor she could tilted her head to the side as if confused. Before her, all with their weapons trained on her lithe form, was a good number of freak vampires. She looked at the freaks, then at her shotgun, then back to the freaks. She then sighed, "How I wish I still had those handguns..."

-

"Blasted undead, get out of my way you carrion!" With those words, Matthew Perigrin fired his pistol directly into the mouth of one of the freaks. He snarled in rage as the undead plague seemed to just be coming out of the woodworks. _Their numbers are endless..._ He thought in annoyance as he threw a series of small knives towards the vampires that were attacking his allies. He frowned at the endless horde of freaks still pouring out from what used to be a regal palace. _Now merely a palace of sin, the Capitol building of Midian I suppose..._

He slowly holstered his pistol and instead drew out another holy sword. He crossed the two blades in front of him while waiting for the charging enemies. Although angry at their slow progress, his eyes glittered in what seamed madness as he dashed through a barrage of bullets to ruthlessly cut down the armed freaks. "You think you can harm me with such toys?" He asked loudly, as if issuing a challenge to the vessels of darkness before him. The only response he received was the cocking of many more firearms in his direction. He only snarled before flinging one of his swords into the nearest freak. "Very well, you lower daemons shall know the taste of divine punishment!" He cackled as he raced forward with his allies to cut down the stunned freaks who didn't know what to make of the Priests who were immune to bullets.

_This is merely to delay us. We must find the true leader of these puppets. We're getting no where this way. We must hunt down Lysandra herself and the puppets of Hellsing._ He then grinned as he withdrew another sword. "Don't you worry Seras Victoria, we are coming for you as well. You will all die tonight by the hands of Iscariot!"

-

Alucard walked into the dark room with a smirk on his face. He didn't bother looking for his prey, he could sense that she was near. Her stench was the same as when he sired her so long ago. He walked fearlessly, if not with some degree of amusement, in the darkened room. He then stopped and stopped smirking. "Enough of this foolishness. You can't honestly expect that you can hide your presence from me?" His voice was grating and harsh, as if chastising a small child.

At first there was no response. After a few more moments of silence, Alucard's challenge was met with a light laughter "Sharp as ever, almighty one." The soft voice mocked as several monitors at the edge of the room suddenly turned on. Alucard slowly turned his gaze towards the monitors to see the destruction that the invasion was causing. One monitor showed Flynn and Hawthorne tearing through legions of, the former laughing maniacally as he was tearing through his enemies with his silver strings of doom. The other agent was mostly silent other than cursing when being forced to hide behind some shelter from the onslaught of the freaks' guns.

The second and third monitors showed faces that the elder vampire did not recognize. He did however recognize the style that the invaders were using to cut down the low-class vampires. _So Iscariot has made it this far, and with so many still. They never fail to surprise me, those silly Catholics._ His eyes merely watch in slight interest as one member of the Iscariot forces fell from a shotgun blast to the face, while another took on a full barrage of gunfire without showing even a hint of of discomfort. He looked back to the first figure to see that, indeed, the man was dead. _So not all of them are regenerators after all? Perhaps Seras was correct in the matter of the Church Paladin being silent._

The forth screen showed a pair of men in suits, one black, one red. Both were fighting with freaks in close combat. He raised an eyebrow at the one in red, oddly wondering what he was using to kill those freaks. _It looks like a red blade, but who would paint a sword red? Or perhaps its merely been covered by so much blood?_ He mused to himself before taking a closer look. He then blinked as he noticed that the 'sword' was actually coming directly out of the man's palm. Alucard smirked, remembering now about what Seras had told him about one of the hunters, the one who used blood to kill. _I wonder what it would taste like?_

The final monitor caused him to smirk, as if watching something highly amusing. He watched with a hint of pride as Seras slaughtered any enemy that dared approach her. She did this either by blasting them with the rather large shotgun that she still carried with her or by merely beating them down until their bodies could no longer handle the stress and collapse into dust. He almost choked when he saw his pupil place the shotgun up to one freak's face and fired it at point blank range, totally ripping the head off from the body.

"She's quite good. You've trained her well Vlad... I guess you're Alucard now though." The soft voice continued as Alucard turned his attention away from the monitors towards the source of the voice. He heard someone slowly walking down what seemed like steps.

He stared at her through the darkness, having no problems seeing her. "She is exceptional, though she still holds on to her human whims for some reason. That's her only fault."

The voice laughed as if finding his appraisal of his fellow vampire amusing. "Don't we all Alucard? Don't we all?" The footsteps finally stopped and the distinct sound of a switch being flipped reached his ears before the room flooded with light. He flinched momentarily at the heavy change but quickly returned his gaze to the one who had been speaking.

Standing on the steps one level above him, she could only smirk as she noticed a look of total disgust cross his face. She slowly continued walking down the stairs, brushing some of her long raven black hair out of her red eyes. Her skin was pale, seemingly almost completely bright white. Her nose and mouth were small, her pale red lips twisted into a strange smirk. She carried herself with a feeling of pompousness and she wore a rather elegant red dress. There was the small blade in a leather sheath that was attached to her hip, seemingly out of place on the strange dress. She finally reached the same level as him and gave him a venomous grin before saying, "It's been a long time."

He only scoffed at that, turning his attention back to the monitors, as if more interested in watching the human agents fight than dealing with the woman before him. He then idly remarked, "Your forces are getting overrun it seems. Perhaps I was woken up for nothing after all."

She lost her grin and merely glared at her former sire. "It matters not, its not like any of those... children could even begin to harm me." She directed her own gaze to the monitors as she watched the one known as Seras Victoria join up with the two men with the blades. The trio didn't exchange any words it seemed but merely continued along, leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

Alucard merely sighed. He removed his yellow sunglasses before glaring at her before asking, "Shall we begin then? I'm finding it rather uncomfortable having the likes of you in my presence."

She merely stared at him before asking. "What did they do to you? You're actually going to take on your own kind, one that you created no less? For what, answer me that!" She declared harshly, her gaze hardening into a glare.

He merely smirked before saying, "My own 'human' reasons." He then slowly reached for his two guns, resting them at his side after unholstering them. "Shall we begin? I haven't had a decent fight against another pure blood for a long time. Don't disappoint me now."

The woman merely glared at him before slowly retrieving her rapier from his hip. "Don't underestimate No Life King. You may have been stronger than me once, but don't take me lightly." Alucard could only smirk back at the challenge, no longer caring about the forces being displayed in the monitor.

-

"You take that group and head that way. I'll take the rest and go this way." Flynn yelled out to Hawthorne, directing towards a particular hallway to the man's right. The soldiers that were gathered around nodded at his orders and began to siphon towards one hallway or the other, leaving the two agents standing in the center.

Hawthorne reluctantly nodded. _We really shouldn't be splitting our forces this way..._ "Understood." He said, releasing the clips on his pistols before reloading. He then directed the soldiers under him to take point while he spoke to Wildcard. "This has been too easy. We should be meeting stronger resistance."

Flynn shrugged, an odd grin on his face. "Eh, who cares? One vampire is as good as the next in my book. Besides, who's to say that the targets aren't already killing the Catholics or one of the other groups?" He chuckled before releasing the catch on the pistol he was holding and reloading it himself. "Though I wouldn't mind taking a crack at that bastard Lorenz who broke my arm last time."

"Oh? Someone who survived a fight with Lorenz? That's impressive little human." Both Flynn and Hawthrone flinched at the sound of a woman's voice before slowly turning their heads to their left. Standing before them was a woman with green hair, pale skin, and piercing red eyes that seemed to flash in excitement.

Flynn raised an eyebrow before giving an out of place smirk and asked, "So who are you darlin'?" His voice took on a mimicked southern drawl, which actually prompted a pair of glares in his direction. "Touchee..." He said, trailing off under the combined might of two glares. He then glared at Hawthorne and scoffed before preparing his threads, "Careful what you wish for idiot."

-

Seras, Jin, and Masters were cautiously creeping further and further towards their destination. Seras was in front of the other two Hellsing soldiers, her eyes searching for something that could not be seen. She had been feeling uncomfortable for a while now, as if she was being hunter and the feeling was not a nice one. She didn't bother mentioning it to her companions, knowing full well that they also felt it.

Finally Masters broke the silence, "Where'd your boyfriend go?" He asked, his eyes searching the darkness.

Seras merely snarled back at him, "Will you idiots drop that remark? Next one of you idiots who says something like that is going to have my boot shoved so far up their ass its going to come out their throat!"

Masters merely raised his hands as if in defeat before a single gunshot rang out in the silence. Jin's eyes widened in shock as he watched Masters fall from a single bullet to the head, sending the man's body tumbling back. He quickly brought his sword up in front of him and fell into a defensive stance.

Seras growled towards the darkness. "I don't know who you are, but that was very stupid of you." She slowly turned back to Masters and bent down. His eyes were still open but the wound to his forehead was bleeding profusely. She held no illusions after seeing where exactly the bullet had struck, the man was dead. She slowly reached over and closed his eyes before standing back up. She then turned back to the darkness and said in an icy voice, "He was one of the few members of Division S I could stand. I'm going to have to kill you for that."

"It doesn't matter, because none of you will make it past this point I'm sorry to say." Stepping forward from the shadows, Lorenz made his appearance. He held a smoking handgun in his hand, the gun now pointed directly at Victoria. He gave a slight bow in recognition of his opponent. "Miss Victoria, a pleasure to see you again."

Jin tensed and was about to attack before Seras held her hand out to the side. "Get back, this one is mine. Leave us." Sensing the man's hesitation at leaving her there she then barked louder, "Get the hell out of here human, you'll only slow me down." Jin finally nodded before turned away and leaving Seras to handle the newly arrived pure blood vampire.

Lorenz noticed the shotgun in her hands and raised an eyebrow. "I never pictured you as a shotgun person."

She didn't respond for a long time, merely glaring at him with everything she was worth. Finally she spoke, "You were the one at the factory, weren't you?"

The man brushed some dust off of his brown business suit before asking nonchalantly. "What do you mean?"

Her face twisted into a feral grin. "Flynn described you to me perfectly. You're the little bastard that sent me on that trip down insanity lane, aren't you?"

He only smirked, "Ah, that man. He's quite amusing, for a human. But yes, I was the one who hit you with the crystal."

Seras' grin only deepened at that before cocking the shotgun. "I'm going to beat the shit out of you for that one."

Lorenz merely dropped the pistol and withdrew a small knife from his sleeve. He positioned himself into a defensive position before beckoning her with his other hand. "Come then woman. Let me show how powerless you really are."

-

Once again, on more than one front, the battle against the undead was joined.


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Playing With Fire  
**

"Life consists not of holding good cards but in playing those you hold well"

The two members of Division S merely looked at their new opponent carefully, as if trying to gauge the woman's ability. Flynn had a bemused expression on his face, as if the woman's presence wasn't unexpected or unwelcome. Hawthorne on the other hand merely measured her up as he held his pistols at his sides, his fingers twitching at on the triggers as if in anticipation. His face betrayed nothing, but eventually he slowly raised one of his hands to loosen his tie before throwing the article of clothing on the ground. His hand then went back down to his side, as if waiting for some higher power to give the order to begin the battle.

Kylie merely chuckled at the tension that seemed to thicken as time passed on. The sounds of gunfire and other battles echoed through the cavernous hallway, only increasing the tension felt by the two humans. She had been twirling her six shooter for a few minutes as she looked over her two opponents, idly wondering if the man with the twin pistols would give her a good challenge.

Flynn although no where near as serious as his companion, also reached up and instead of taking his time to untie it, he merely ripped it off with a contemptuously gesture. After a period of silence, his expression changed into a thin grin before speaking. "You're the one who Victoria fought at that warehouse. I didn't really get a good look at you last time."

He then smirked at seeing her confused expression before adding, "You're kinda cute." Not to say that the emerald haired vampire wasn't, at least in Flynn's eyes. She was wearing a pair of tight hip-hugging jeans that emphasized her legs, a holster for the pistol she carried hanging of her right hip. She was wearing a dark sweater and a brown jacket as well, and a bandoleer ran from her shoulder to her left hip. Her face reminded him slightly of a woman he had once seen in a movie somewhere, but Flynn dismissed it almost as quickly as the idle thought floated through his mind. _Why is it that all the beautiful women in my life are bloodsuckers? I really need to find a new line of work..._

She looked at him as if he was an idiot before breaking out into laughter. Hawthorne's fingers twitched even further and he was thinking of ways to hurt Flynn later if they survived this encounter as her laughter slowly died down. She flipped the gun once in the air, the pistol spinning wildly before she caught it with her right hand and spinning it back into its holster. "Why thank you. I'm glad to see that I still have my stunning good looks." She said with a chuckle as her eyes glancing between the two in a playful manner.

Hawthorne remained silent through this exchange but Flynn refused to let the situation damper his humor now that it had shown its ugly head. "Yeah, you ought to be in pictures beautiful." He remarked with a hint of mirth in his voice. "Just get some contacts to color those eerie eyes of yours and no one would ever know the difference."

She only chuckled before cracking her neck to both the right and left once, the sound echoing loudly. "I rather like my eyes handsome. It's a shame really, if you weren't with Hellsing I'd treat you to a night of ecstasy in exchange for your blood. I bet we could have a lot of fun together." She said suggestively, a small grin showing her amusement with the two humans in front of her. While one was obviously uncomfortable in her presence, and made no attempt to hide it, the other was already undressing her with her eyes. For some odd reason, it made her laugh inside. _Pity, really._

Flynn merely waved his hand, as if turning her down. "Sorry babe, wouldn't happen either way. I made it a policy to not jump between the sheets with a blood sucker. If another lifetime maybe. Both you and Victoria 'are' convincing cases after all." He said with a smirk on his face.

Hawthorne seemed to think it was time for the meaningless, if not mildly disturbing, conversation to end. "Wildcard, let's just do this. We shouldn't dally long." He said coldly, glaring at the two enemies that were... flirting with each other?

Both Flynn and Kylie looked at the man as if confused. Finally after a long silence, Flynn raised an eyebrow. "Dally?" He asked in an even further amused tone of voice.

Even Kylie chuckled slightly at that as she whipped out her revolver and began to twirl it once more in her right hand. Her left was in her jacket pocket, and she stood in a relaxed position. "I've been around for over three centuries and I haven't heard that expression since the Alamo. You need to get out more kid."

Flynn looked at the emerald haired woman before shrugging slightly. "Far be it for me to agree with a blood sucker, but she's right." Hawthorne's eyebrow twitched at the comment but distracted himself from shooting Flynn in the head by taking a deep breath. "But he's right beautiful, sorry but its time for you to die." The playful tone in Flynn's voice was gone, as was the amused expression. Now he looked completely serious, his right hand raised to a position to attack. His sleeve still covered the stringing weapon from being seen but his left hand was already reached for the pistol that was tucked into his waist behind him as well. "We have no time to waste on you little girl. We have bigger fish to fry."

Her playful expression didn't change in the slightest as she stopped twirling her pistol. "A pity then. The two of you will just have to die then." And with that, she removed her left hand from her jacket to reveal something small, triangular, and with a small light and counter. "Shall we dance?" She said with a light laugh as she threw the device towards them and dashed away.

"Aw shit!" Flynn immediately recognized the small time bomb and dashed to the side as quickly as possible. Hawthorne didn't really know what it was but seeing the lunatic who the god of death seemed to favor running sent a clear message. He ran in the opposite direction, coming up into a roll as the bomb exploded.

Flynn flinched slightly as a piece of debris slammed into his side, knocking him to the ground. _Son of a..._ He cursed internally as he staggered back to his feet, already looking for his target. Her barely had time to react before a fist met his stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he slumped forward slightly into the waiting arms of the female vampire.

"That's all? Lorenz was right, you guys really are weaklings except for your pet pure bloods." She pouted as she dropped the man to the ground. He seemed to be unconscious from the blow and that meant that one of her targets was out of commission. She grinned as she turned to find the enemy gunman, _I can always keep this one as a pet I suppose; he's far too amusing to kill. Master wouldn't mind._ She then sensed that a gun was being aimed at her head as she quickly dove to the side, avoiding the hailstorm of bullets that was capable of ripping her apart. She quickly found her target and returned fire, six shots with such rapidity that Hawthorne couldn't help but dive for cover from the smaller hailstorm.

He cursed out loud as one of the bullet's grazed his shoulder before landing behind some debris. He immediately released the clips from his pistols and slammed them back towards his hips, using his reloading mechanism to reload in a matter of seconds. He could hear the mocking laughter of the woman in the distance and frowned. _If this is the same one that fought Victoria in the reports... I'm in for one hell of a gunfight..._ He then peered around his shelter to see the unconscious Wildcard, laying directly in the open for the woman to pick off. He frowned before peering around. _Damn that idiot!_

He then took a risk that he knew he would probably regret. He holstered one of his guns and took over towards his fallen comrade. A few shots rang out but luckily he was able to avoid having his head blown off as he grabbed the man's fallen body off the ground at a full-run, not stopping for even a nanosecond. With one last desperate dive, he and his passenger slammed into a side door, knocking the door down as a few more bullets whizzed by Hawthorne's head. He quickly dragged Flynn's body to the side and reassessed his new location.

He was surprised to find himself in what appeared to be a cafeteria or some sort. _Perhaps the area where the guards and other people who worked in the palace ate during the day?_ He mused to himself before shaking his head and venturing deeper into the room. He reached over his burden to fire a few shots back towards the door, if only to keep the gunwoman back temporarily until he could find some place to store his unconscious ally, or better yet, wake his ass up.

After another ten seconds the human gunman found a door and opened it. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was an empty broom closet so he chuckled his package inside, idly hoping that the impact would wake the man up. Without pausing to see if the silver stringer awoke, he slammed the door and grabbed his second pistol without hesitation. Immediately as he did so he felt a cold presence that caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up straight. He instantly dove to the right, avoiding a headshot that ripped through the wooden door. He turned his head and cursed internally once again as he saw the emerald haired woman aiming directly at him. He took off once again, returning fire as he ran towards the kitchen area, hoping for some cover.

Kylie merely laughed as she watched the human avoid her gunfire. "Run little rabbit run!" She cried out in amusement as the man dove through the serving window to land in the kitchen. She quickly spun her gun cylinder once, releasing the bullets before inserting a new six-clip in. "Oh how I do love the hunt..." She said with an eerie grin on her face.

Hawthorne rolled to his feet and turned and returned fire through the opening, pushing the woman back temporarily once again. He kept his composure however and began searching his surroundings, looking for something, anything, that might give him an edge however slight. In battles like this, you took what you could get, no matter how seemingly insignificant. He once had a mission where he found a paper clip on the floor and picked it up without thinking. Later in that mission he found himself behind strangled to death by the vampire he had been hunting and he was disarmed. So in response, he bent the edge of the paper clip and slammed it directly into the vampire's pupil, giving him the distraction he needed to break free and get his guns.

This battle was no different, and he quickly continued his search, keeping his body low enough in case of a spray of bullets came through the opening. In doing so he almost tripped over a bucket and cursed softly as a slight pain ran up his foot from when he kicked the metal pail. He looked down at it in slight confusion before the harsh smell of cleaning solution assaulted his delicate sense of smell. _Why the hell would the y leave that there?_ He wondered idly before a grin that would have even worried Flynn crossed his face. He quickly began searching the rest of the kitchen area and quickly found what he had been looking for. He quickly grabbed the bucket and the rest of the rest of what he needed and quickly ran for the kitchen's other exit.

Kylie slowly kicked open the door to the kitchen but didn't enter it, expecting some sort of ambush. When the door opened and there had been no gunfire in response, she tilted her head slightly to peer in through the entryway. She merely frowned, wondering if her prey had just taken off and was merely trying to save his skin. That was a possibility that she hadn't considered previously and one that if it came to pass would annoy her heavily. _I was expecting a decent fight, not some spineless coward! Perhaps I shouldn't have left that other one for later; he would at least try to fight me!_

She continued through the kitchen, a frown on her face as she probed through the area. She then noticed the slightly open door that was the kitchen's rear exit. She smirked at the thin line of light coming through the opening as she continued over towards the door. _Perhaps I jumped to conclusions too soon after all._ She spun her revolver a few times before bracing herself against the wall next to the door, her left hand reaching over to grab the knob. She steeled herself before slamming her body against the door, bringing her revolver up to sweep the room, ready to put a bullet in the head of her prey.

It was then that something from above landed on her head, splashing some sort of liquid into her eyes. She screamed in pain, frustration, and annoyance as she brought her left forearm up to rub the stuff out of her eyes, but even before she was able to close them some of the whatever it was got in, burning her eyes. _Son of a bitch! What the hell is this, kindergarten?_ She growled out in frustration as she was finally able to open her eyes slightly, the searing pain from the liquid meeting her eyes fueling her yell. It was only then that the smell hit her. She sniffed once to make sure she wasn't imagining it but then her eyes opened wide as the realization hit her. She acted a second too late.

Hawthorne couldn't help but smirk when he saw that the first part of his plan worked. It was the part that was most likely to fail either way, but when the woman burst in with no hesitation, he knew he had her. He chuckled slightly as he watched her try to rub the stuff from her eyes and looked to his side, seeing the empty bottle of lighter fluid next to him, as well as the trailing of the stuff leading towards the door, and the emerald haired blood sucker. He couldn't help but think, _this is something Wildcard would come up with. Damn, he's rubbing off on me, that's a terrifying thought_. He then reached into his pocket and withdrew his personal Zippo lighter. With a smirk he struck the flame on and dropped it next to the empty can of lighter fluid and then ran as fast as he could from his hiding spot. He watched over his shoulder as the flame traveled along the trail of fluid quickly towards the woman who seemed confused as to why floor cleaning soap had been dumped on her. However, as the flame drew closer to her Hawthorne only grinned.

Most industrial strength cleaners were flammable.

The sensation of heat hit her far too quickly for her own liking as Kylie screamed as the flames shot up her legs and set her body on fire. Oh and how she screamed, Hawthorne couldn't help but flinch as the noise assaulted his ears, but he didn't dare reveal himself to see how well his plan worked for even a second; the screaming was a good enough sign. _Toasted Vampire. Tasty..._ He thought with a small grin as he heard the woman crashing to the ground and rolling around in a vain attempt to put out the flames. _Well, time to take this to the next level. Take her out now before she knows what hit her._ He thought as he reached around the corner and took aim with his pistols before releasing a fresh volley of the silver bullets.

The vampire tried to react to the sounds of the gunfire but she reacted far too slowly as was thrown back as the bullets struck her body. He was thrown backwards a few feet before landing on her back and her body stopped its twitching, the flames that were still burning against her body slowly dying out now that their fuel source was gone. There was an long and uncomfortable silence before Hawthorne slowly walked over towards the fallen vampire. He released the two clips and immediately reloaded, his scornful glare not leaving the woman's charred body. He finally stopped over her body and pointed his pistol down at her head.

He paused momentarily in confusion as something occurred to him. _Wait a sec, I definitely hit her head and heart in that last exchange... Why hasn't she turned to dust?_ The realization hit him too slowly, so something else took its place. His body lurched upwards as he cried out in agonizing pain as something struck him directly in the spine, causing him to leave control over his limbs for a moment. It was probably for the best either way; he was in far too much pain to even feel the ruthless kick that connected with his skull, sending his body flying to the side, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop. He tried to right himself but his body wouldn't respond, the pain was too great. He could barely even open his eyes and he was not happy with what he was seeing.

Standing before him with her clothing that was nearly all burnt off and her skin charred beyond measure was one pissed off woman. If looks were capable of killing, her sneer alone would have caused Hawthorne's body to eviscerate. Her eyebrow, or at least what remained after her flash broil, was twitching erratically as she continued to glare down at him before aiming six shooter and firing four times, one into each of his limbs. He screamed in agony as he his body rattled without his consent from the wounds. He weakly glared back at his tormentor, whose face was already rapidly healing from her burns, before asking weakly, "How?"

She only fired once more into his stomach before answering. "It was a good idea, all things considered. However you severely underestimated my abilities as a pure blood. Granted, we aren't too fond of fire, but it can't kill us alone. I merely created a doppleganger once the flames hit me to attract you attention while I put them out and waited for you to show yourself." She fired once again into his left leg before raised the gun and spinning the cylinder again, letting the empty casings fall onto his bleeding stomach before replacing the bullets and snapping the cylinder shut, completely ignoring his cries of agony. She then quickly glared down at him and said, "You prick, I may not like fire but it still fucking hurts like hell. And you ruined my best jacket and my wallet was in there." She then fired another three shots, once again hitting his arms and his right leg.

Hawthorne coughed weakly, blood spilling from his mouth. She sneered at his pathetic sight before reaching down with her free hand and grabbing his skull. She yanked him up into the air with little effort, thought he sudden motion sent the man's senses whirling. He coughed a few more times before weakly meeting her gaze which was still burning as if she was still on fire. "For all that effort, you can bet that your damn blood is mine little human!" She then bent forward and sunk her teeth into his neck and began to feed.

Hawthorne oddly felt nothing as she drained the remaining life from his body. _Funny, the stories always say that its either really painful or insanely pleasurable when you're drained by a vampire. Heh, probably because I'm dying either way. I can't feel my legs at all anymore..._ His eyes slowly shut before his body finally slumped in her grasp.

The female vampire threw the man down in distaste. Even after draining the hunter, she was still angry and being caught off guard by such a trick. _Lorenz would never let me hear the end of it if he ever knew..._

It was only then that something looped around her neck from behind and was yanked against her neck hard. She reacted almost instantaneously, raising her pistol to become a barrier against the noose that was rapidly tightening around her neck. "The hell?" She asked out loud.

A playful and deadly voice came from behind her as the silver strings tried to tighten even further, already cutting into her neck slightly and giving off a hissing noise as ash began to rise into the air. "Miss me darlin'?" He said as his right arm was struggling to yank back his silver threads but found his strength losing to hers.

"And where the hell have you been while your pyromaniac partner was trying to kill me?" She asked in a bored voice, as if no longer amused with the man's antics.

"Locked in the god damn closet. Are you aware that your screams are really god damn loud?" He asked in slight amusement as his left hand brought up the pistol that had been in his waistline. Without hesitating he fired once into the back of her left knee, causing the leg below to vanish as she screamed out in pain and staggered to the ground, almost pulling him along by his threads.

"I'm gonna kill you..." She warned angrily as his pistol still fought against the strands of silver that were trying to tear her head from her body.

Flynn lost his playful antics and brought the gun to bear on the back of her skull. "Fat chance vampire scum. I'll see you in hell." He said coldly before firing a single shot directly into her skull. Not even a scream was present before her body collapsed into dust, his six shooter clattered on the floor as if bounced past him as he retracted his threads. He smirked as he saw the dust on the ground, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust ma cherie." He said with a fake French accent.

He then saw his partner in crime resting a few feet in front of him. He knew the man was already dead, there was no saving him. Flynn merely looked at the corpse before slowly raising the gun and saying once in a sad tone, "As a human my friend. I'll see you on the other side."

A single gunshot rang out, closing another chapter in the battle against the undead.

Flynn slowly walked away from his most recent battlefield, a frown on his face as he slowly made his way towards where he should've already been by now. Slowly he raised his hand to his ear, focusing on the small radio piece that was there. "Crackshot, you there?"

A voice crackled through the static to answer him, "Roger that Wildcard. What's your situation?"

"Hawk is dead, pure blooded bitch got him. I'm heading towards the rendezvous point. What are the others' status?"

"We lost contact with Redcoat and Draculina's group. As for Mutey, who the hell knows?"

Flynn nodded as he paused to peer around a corner before continuing on. The encounter with the pure blood had not been unexpected, but Hawthorne's death was. He was no longer going to fool around. "And the Catholics?"

"Still going ape shit. Most of them have entered the palace and we're getting scattered reports from the soldiers that they are tearing the vampires apart."

"Roger that Crackshot. Wildcard out." He then lowered his hand and dashed around the corner only to meet a few startled freaks that had somehow evaded all their friendly forces. Flynn didn't even bother to grin, he merely tore the freaks apart as he thought to himself, _No more time for games. It is time to end this nonsense before it truly reached a point of no return. _

If only the man knew where those thoughts would end up in less than an hour.


	25. Chapter 24

Sorry for the delay in this chapter but school has been kicking my ass recently beyond all measures. I don't think I have ever wanted the semester to end as badly as this one; ever! Four finals that are all going to kick my ass, (one of which we shouldn't be having in my honest opinion), two large scale projects that I have spent the entire semester working on with partners, not to mention the other homework that I have due Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week.

I have basically decided to myself that after my last final is over, provided I've demonstrated my database (that we had to build from scratch to little or no assistance on how to do so from our Professor) for my database systems course, I plan on drinking myself retarded. It'll be the first time where I think I'll honestly feel that I deserve it, and god hell anyone who tries to stop me that night.

So for the chapter itself... I don't know if anyone else here has tried to write a Hellsing story, but trying to give Alucard a fighting style... it just doesn't work... In the anime he mostly just uses his guns except for the last battle and that one against that guy in Hellsing's basement. In both cases, his familiar just beats the shit out of whoever he is fighting. Basically, I've yet to read an Alucard battle where he calls out his familiar that is anything other than him losing miserably, or winning without challenge. It makes describing the way he would fight difficult.

Thus I tried to pull as much of his powers out of the manga as I could, seeing how this story is a strange anime/manga hybrid. (Yes, I know the plot is drastically different in the manga, but I have taken certain aspects from the manga and spoke about them in previous chapters.) To anyone who has been able to write a 'good' Alucard battle that doesn't just involve a gun fight, bravo to you.

With Seras its far easier. Granted, her fight with Kylie was a gunfight, but thats because that is Kylie's style. The next time Seras will fight, it will be a style of my creation but since I have a much better feeling for her character, or at least the character that Seras has developed in my story, I feel it will be far easier.

As for the agents dropping like flies... well, yeah. Shit happens I guess. I realize the last chapter was pretty short but I didn't really think I could draw out the battle against the emerald haired gunfighter any longer.

To everyone pointing out my grammar and spelling errors... I'm aware. Just most of the time by the time I finish a chapter, I just want to post it and move on. As long as no one points out anything glaringly bad, like a statement makes little to no sense, I do go back at change it, just don't really post an updated version. That's mostly because one day I will come back and re-edit this story from the beginning, fixing all the parts that I never really liked how they ended up coming out.

Final note: anyone feel like offering me a summer job?

**Chapter Twenty-Four: True Battle**

"We forget that we aren't samurai. Soldiers get the job done, protect their comrades, make sure that their side wins. Honor…it screws things up..."

Alucard merely glanced at his former wife as she held her rapier in a ready stance with a small smirk. The Jackal and Cassul were held in a loose grip at his side as his sunglasses slid down once again to the brim of his nose. He finally spoke again for the first time since she had unveiled her weapon. "You can't expect to harm me with that... toy?"

She only frowned at his confidence. "Do not underestimate almighty one. Or do you not remember who once taught YOU how to fight with this weapon?" The last part of the challenge was said with a smirk on her face as Lysandra repositioned the thin blade.

He only scoffed at that. "Blades are well and good but you should know that it can't kill either of us." He then raised the two guns and replaced them in his coat. He then allowed himself to take on a sadistic smile. "Although I still thank you for this chance. I haven't done battle with a real vampire other than Seras Victoria for far too long."

He then raised his two hands together to form an odd hand seal. "Invocation of Cromwell confirmed. Levels three, two, and one released. Releasing control technique restraining system 2. Situation triple 'A'. Activating limited disengagement of ability protection until the target is completely silenced." As soon as Alucard finished speaking, the darkness around him surged forth unchecked. The lights that had been turned on instantly flickered before the dark power caused them to explode, sinking the room back into darkness. Lysandra merely stared back as the numerous eyes began to appear on her former husband's body. It was a sight she had not seen for over five centuries, and one that she never enjoyed watching. Alucard only smirked as the eyes all glared at his prey. "It seems that its time for another lesson child!"

With that being said the battle between the two ancients began. Alucard's form immediately twisted and a dog of pure shadow formed from his upper shoulder, landing on the ground with a thump and already running towards the enemy. Saliva glistening in the mad hound's jaws, its unnatural red eyes already looking forward to fresh meat. Lysandra only watched in silence as the beast lunged at her, pouncing into the air with the intent to sink its jaws into her neck.

Her movements were quick, precise, and had no excess motions. She took one step to her left and brought her rapier down, impaling the shadow beast through its own throat. The shadow beast's form exploded and she quickly brought the rapier back, already giving off a confident smirk from the result of her thrust. Alucard raised an eyebrow, still holding his hands in their previous position. _So, the hell hounds can be killed by that blade... It must be made of silver if its able to disperse one of my familiars, strange that its not affecting her though..._ She quickly brought the weapon back into a defensive position, as if waiting for more. "I'll say it once more no life king, don't underestimate me!" She then dashed forward, her movement too fast for the eye to see.

Alucard merely laughed out loudly as he watched her charging form. He lowered his two arms and laughed gleefully as a series of shadowy arms coalesced from the darkness and shot forth towards his rushing opponent. "Don't let me down Bloody Countess!" He challenged as he awaited her thrust.

Lysandra only dashed between the arms, occasionally thrusting and slashing at the shadowy limbs that were merely extensions of Alucard's power. She didn't even show a hint of frustration however as she edged closer and closer to the red clothed vampire. It was as if it was merely a game of tag to her as she quickly weaved through the mass of hands. She finally closed in upon Alucard, faster than he had anticipated, and let out a self-assured smile as thrusted towards his heart.

Alucard scoffed at the straightforward attack before shifting back into the shadows, watching idly as the sword parted the mist where he used to be. He only laughed darkly before materializing a few free from her and reaching out with his right arm. Once again, shadowy limbs extended from his arm and body, shooting straight for the woman who had already turned to ready herself for his next attack. He was surprised when she only smirked as one of the hands shot straight through her heart. Her body stumbled for a moment before vanishing as if made of dust and blowing away. He heard a soft laugh before slowly turning his to his left.

Lysandra stood there at ease, her rapier being held at her side. "Do not think that you will be able to catch me with such tricks oh wise one. I have come into full realization of my powers, I no longer the fledgling that you never wanted to train." She then lowered her rapier even further and smirked as her red eyes shifted into a darker red, almost black color.

Alucard felt something inside him shift and frowned. He immediately forced down the attack on his mind and send out several more of his fiendish hell hounds if only to distract her long enough in order to amuse him longer. When the two hounds jumped from his stomach he was shocked to see them both immediately turn and dive for his throat. He phased through the two hounds with ease but with great shock. _What?_ The dogs went undeterred and turned around and jumped at him again. He didn't bother to try to avoid them this time, he merely grabbed one by its throat with his left hand while sending his right through the beast's head, sending it back to the abyss from which it had been summoned. The hound yelped in pain in Alucard grasp before he crushed his throat, vanishing similarly to the others. Alucard turned back to face his opponent when he noticed that she was no longer there. He felt the air around him shifting and immediately turned to see the rapier being once again thrusted at his chest area. He frowned once again at her obvious attacks as he sidestepped her thrust to the left. The blade scratched his shoulder lightly and he winced as a strange burning sensation filled the wound. He quickly vanished back into the shadows, feeling oddly disturbed back the fact that he actually 'felt pain' from such a small wound.

The woman merely laughed at his retreat. She merely looked peered back into the darkness with those nearly black eyes and questioned him, "Feeling confused almighty one? Do the eyes of the damned worry you? Or does the stinging wound of yours issue you a final warning about me?"

Alucard frowned as he rematerialized about ten feet from her. His left shoulder was bleeding lightly and a strange expression filled his face as he looked between her and his shoulder. _It's not healing?_ He idly wondered before turning back to his former wife. "I take it that blade is far from ordinary?"

She only smirked. "You could say that. It's not silver if that's what you're asking." Her black eyes faded back into their normal red color before she spoke again. "You are a fool to underestimate me or my weapons; you don't even have an inkling of what I can do!"

He only laughed once again as he brought his right hand up to his face. His head tilted back slightly as he continued to laugh, peering at her through his own fingers. "Indeed! I didn't think that the eyes of the damned still existed! I haven't seen those since I was still alive!"She lost her smirk at that statement. _The eyes of the damned are MY technique! There is no legend you old fool._ As if sensing her thoughts, he laughed even harder. "You can't honestly believed that you were the only one to think of such an idea." He then lowered his gaze as he looked her straight in the eye. "The 'eyes' allowed for simple extermination of the undead, as the waves given off by the user's eyes distort control over the dark powers of undead opponents. It was an old trick that hunters in our time came up with to use against the Lycans. It would drive the pack driven beasts insane until they turned on their own kind. Dispatching them would follow since by the time the pack would be mostly dead, their wounds would slow them down enough for the hunters to finish the job."

She frowned for a moment before shrugging. "So it seems I didn't create them after all. Pity, I thought I was creative calling them that." She then repositioned her blade before asking, "So now that you know what my eyes can do, will you still be foolish enough to try to use your familiar against me?" Her eyes once again faded to black as she charged him.

Alucard merely scoffed as he made a quick cutting gesture with his left hand upwards. Instantly, legions of shadowy arms shot forth from the ground, trying to grab the dashing woman's legs and restrain her. She was surprised but jumped into the air in order to avoid them. She seemed to float in the air for a moment before dive bombing down on Alucard with her rapier, much like how a hawk descends on a field mouse. Alucard merely scoffed once again before speaking, "Several centuries and your tactics are still far too easily seen through." He then phased upwards, vanishing for an instant.

Lysandra frowned as she extended her senses in midair to search for Alucard's presence. She was then shocked when Alucard materialized in front of her diving path and shot a fist directly into her stomach. Her body lurched forward as she suddenly came to a stop in midair. With a flick of his arm, Alucard sent Lysandra's body flying off to the side, slamming into the television monitors that he had earlier watched the invading forces on. The brittle electronics shattered as her body smashed through them, sending shards of glass and circuitry flying everywhere. Alucard merely crushed a few circuit chips as he landed on the ground gracefully. "You overrate your own abilities. The eyes of the damned may influence my hell hounds by they do nothing else. It is a wasted power."

"Perhaps. But I will still kill you Alucard." The voice came from behind Alucard and he allowed a few eyes on the back of his body to open and stare behind him. Standing as if she hadn't been touched at all was Lysandra, still having her eyes pooled in darkness. "Say what you may but you seem to be forgetting something oh great one." She said the last part mockingly. A small grin covered her face as she pointed her rapier at him once again. "You are not the only one with access to dark power." With that said, she brought her rapier down and slammed the tip of the blade into the ground in front of her.

The reaction was instantaneous. Instantly after she had touched the ground with her blade, the darkness around Alucard once again shifted. He cursed as he watched a large circle of blades composed of shadow form around him. _So she still has some tricks up her sleeve._ He didn't have much time to react as soon as that thought finished itself, the blades flew towards him at speeds that could have matched most firearms. He quickly allowed himself to phase back into the shadows but the destruction from the shadow blades did not pass by him. The blades impacted on his old position, decimating the floor where he had been standing.

When he reappeared he was shocked to find himself grunting as pain shot through his back. He looked down to see a series of shadow blades thrusting through his chest He scoffed at the blades and waved his hand at them, dispersing them with his own dark power. He watched in idle fascination as the wounds on his chest closed up quickly before turning back to his opponent. He slowly reached into the darkness within his own chest, through a trio of large red eyes, and withdrew his two pistols. He smirked as he saw her still standing there, rapier still implanted into the ground. "That can't be all you have."

The woman only smirked at him as she slowly removed her blade from the ground. "Of course not Alucard." It was then that Alucard's ears picked up slight movement and without thinking he levitated into the air. He wasn't fast enough as a thrusting blade caught him in the lower right hamstring from behind. He screamed in pain as he dematerialized and rematerialized further away from his prior position. Standing where he has been was his opponent who brought the rapier up near her face. She ran a gloved hand over the edge of the blade and wiped some of the blood from the sharpened edge. She ran her fingers over her mouth and drank greedily, like an addict getting her fix. "Your blood is still as wonderful as I remember..."

He frowned at that as he stood with most of his weight on his left leg, his lower right bleeding heavily. He looked between the two Lysandra's standing in the room before realizing what had happened. "Impressive. I didn't sense it was a doppelganger at all."

The first Lysandra gave a small bow before vanishing into the darkness with a small laugh. The real Lysandra merely grinned, revealing her fangs in the darkness. "Yet another trait that the eyes give me. I must say, I still wasn't sure if they would fool your senses though. They work on my minions well enough."

He only scoffed as she mentioned her underlings. "Mere pups." He then gave a small grin that was filled with hate. "But you have graduated from pup to mongrel since I last saw you. This should be plenty fun..." He then raised both guns, crossing his arms as he aimed both of them at her. "What say we up the game on this ante? It gets boring if only one of us is actually using weapons."

Perigrin frowned as he backhanded one freak vampire with his right hand, which was still grasping his holy blade. _Their numbers are endless! This is taking far too long!_ He raised his pistol and fired point blank into the vampire's turned head before barking out an order. "All Knights of the Church Paladin! Converge on my position!" He then noticed a group of freaks charging him. He scoffed as the bullets peppered off his body and prepared himself to attack.

He only watched clinical detachment as two men landed in front of his position and retaliated. The two Iscariots unleashed a barrage of Holy knives and they struck with deadly precision, the blessed silver reducing the oncoming fools to dust. The two then turned to their leader and bowed their heads slightly. "Father Perigrin, your orders?"

He frowned. _Only two are nearby enough to hear me? Well, its more than enough..._ "We will no longer focus on extermination. We must find the artifact and recover it." He then allowed himself a maniacal grin, "Of course, should the Bloody Countess get in our way, we will deal with her as needed."

The two nodded, "Understood." The three then took off, dashing even further into what had once been a beautiful palace for English nobility. The small group met further resistance inside but kept mostly to sneaking past the freak vampires. It would take far too long to kill them all and their forces from outside were already doing enough damage to kill their enemy occupied.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity of searching, the three stumbled into a room that literally swimming with dark energies. Perigrin felt his bones and soul quaking from the darkness but immediately pushed the fear and loathing back as he walked further into the room. His two companions followed him and the three stared in wonder at the room they saw.

It at one time must have been what was the throne room. It was an overly grand design, with a large chair at one end. Most of the grand decorations had been taken down, or rather torn down. The corpses of servants and guards alike were scattered throughout the room, a grisly sight to see, even to the experienced hunters from Iscariot. But what disturbed them the most was the fact that bodies were not merely discarded in random chunks, well some were.

Carved deep into the floor was a strange symbol that none of the Iscariots had even seen before. It was as if someone had taken a surgical laser, increased its intensity to the point where it could puncture concrete, and then drew the symbol into the ground. Perigrin couldn't help himself and he kneeled down and ran his fingers along the grooves in the floor. The breaks were smooth, as if sanded down. _What manner of trickery is this?_ He wondered before one of his compatriots spoke, "Father, over there." The man pointed towards the center of the strange mark on the floor.

Floating there in there air was something strange. It looked as if someone had taken a human heart and painted it black and brown. It seemed to pulsate and pound loudly, causing the three men discomfort as they realized what it was exactly. The third man spoke up, "Looks like we found it."

Perigrin only nodded as he stood. The second man had already started approaching the Devil's Bane, the strange living artifact of dark power that was supposed to be locked deep within the confines of the Holy See. Only one thing bothered him as he saw his subordinate reach for the relic. _Why would they just leave it here? Oh no..._ Before Perigrin could shout his warning, the man's hand came into contact with some sort of barrier shield. The man screamed out in unimaginable agony as dark power rushed through his veins, causing his body to tremble and shake as if he was being electrocuted. Finally his body was thrown back, landing on the ground painfully, still shaking from the discharge of dark energies.

"Hans!" The other Iscariot called and was about to rush to his fallen comrade when Perigrin stopped him by holding his arm out.

"Wait." He commanded, watching as the man's twitching form slowly came to a halt, the man's eyes locked open and staring at the ceiling with his mouth opened in silent agony. It was then that the body burst into black flames for a few moments before fizzling out of existence. There was nothing left in his place, save a horrible stench and the ash of what had formally been a human. Perigrin cursed under his breath and looked back at the artifact. "So it seems that this will be harder than we thought..."

"Damn humans! When did they get in here?" A group of voices brought the two Iscariots out of their musings as they drew their blades. A group of freak vampires had just entered the room behind them, some armed with guns, four with swords. They all looked mighty eager to kill the two Catholics standing before them.

The two Iscariots didn't even so much as exchange a glance before they both bolted into action, acting in unison. They both charged the freaks, Perigrin from the left, his companion from the right. The gun-toting freaks were stunned by the sudden attack and opened fire, shocked to find out that their assault did nothing against the two regenerators. Perigrin let out an insane laugh as he slashed through the gun-toting freaks towards the sword wielding ones.

His companion followed suit, minus the insane laugh. It wasn't long before the two Iscariots stood back to back against the four remaining freak vampires, who were surrounding them in a box formation. One of the freaks spit to the side before saying, "Master Lorenz warned us about your kind. Blasted regenerators..."

Perigrin smiled that insane smile of his, "Hate us if you want. 'Tis matter not, for you all are going back to the abyss tonight. That includes your masters."

The freaks scoffed under their breathes before charging. Perigrin dashed forward to deal with one of them directly, shoving his blade directly through the freak's neck. He twisted his wrist and swung outwards, severing the vampire's head from the rest of his body. He turned to face another freak when someone beat him to the kill. A silver katana flashed out once, severing the vampire's head before the wielder continued to walk forward at a slow pace. Perigrin scoffed as he recognized the man but watching in idle interest as he walked a leisurely pace to kill the other two freaks. He then sheathed his katana and merely nodded at Perigrin.

Perigrin sheathed his own blade before returning the nod. "Protestant dog. What are you doing here?"

Jin looked back at the man with a steady gaze before tilting his head, as if to say, 'How do you expect me to answer?' He then walked past Perigrin towards the Devil's Bane, as if unaware of the barrier around it. "No, wait you fool!" Perigrin called out. Jin ignored his warnings and continued to walk forward until he was within arm's reach of the artifact. Then with one quick motion, he unsheathed his blade and swung at the blade as if to strike it down.

The result was immediate. As soon as the silver katana struck the barrier, Jin released his hold on the blade, dropping it to the ground instantly. He shook his hand, as if it had been burnt from his attack, before watching his sword slowly disintegrate into ash. He frowned at it as he flexed his hand. _That's troublesome. A fairly strong barrier._

Perigrin resisted the urge to strike the man before saying, "We already lost one to that barrier. You're lucky you didn't actually touch it."

Jin only nodded in agreement. After watching what the barrier did to his sword, an inanimate object, he could only wonder what would happen if a human had touched it. He then turned to Perigrin and gave a significant look. He then made a few short gestures with his right hand. _Step back. I'll try to break it._

Perigrin, not being versed in sign language, had no idea what the oriental was trying to say. Fortunately, his companion understood. "He says he can break the barrier." Jin nodded and made another series of gestures which the man translated for Perigrin. "He says he needs a knife."

Perigrin looked at the man, as if wondering what he was up to before handing him a small throwing knife. Jin took it and gestured for the man to step back. He then took a step back from the artifact himself and cut his arm, letting the blood drip down to the ground. He then walked around the floating relic, spreading his blood until it made a complete circle around the floating piece of flesh. He tossed the knife away before making a gesture to Perigrin and his companion. "He says that once he starts, he won't be able to stop so don't let anything distract him or the barrier will merely get stronger.

Jin nodded to the translation then launched into a long series of hand motions with both hands. Perigrin only watched in confusion before remembering. _That's right. He's supposed to be their warding specialist..._

That was when the walls around them exploded. The two Iscariots took cover while Jin remained in place, still continuing his hand motions as if unaware of what was going on. Perigrin cursed before dashing forward and taking up a defensive position around the oriental man.

Walking forth from the dust was a woman wearing the remains of what at one time been an elaborate dress. She held a small rapier blade in her right hand and her eyes were as black as night. Perigrin couldn't help but gasp as he watched the woman forming a new left arm from the remains of the one she already had. She waited for a few moments as her arm healed before yelling, "Enough Alucard! This nonsense ends now!" She declared before parts of her became entwined with shadow and wild beasts seemed to form from her shoulders and launch themselves back towards the wall that had just been destroyed. Perigrin blinked as he watched the female vampire use her familiar, which in some way resembled a dragon. _Looks like we found the Bloody Countess._

His inner voice was broken when he heard the sound of gunfire and watched as the Shadow Dragon was destroyed by a hailstorm of silver bullets. "HAHAHAHA!" Came the course laughter that caused Perigrin's blood to literally freeze in his veins.

Perigrin whispered to Jin quickly, "Hurry up."

Jin only nodded before stopping on a single hand seal. He then took a deep breath before slamming his hands down onto the floor, where his circle of blood lay. The reaction was instantaneous. Red light arose from the circle of blood around the relic and it formed a giant column of red energy. Perigrin only watched with wide open eyes as the warding specialist tried to bring down the barrier. The red energy crackled against the invisible barrier, with shards of power shooting off from where they hit. Sweat ran down Jin's face as he continued his attempts to dispel the barrier, his teeth grinding in concentration. Finally after several seconds of this, the red column exploded, sending the two flying away. Perigrin landed several feet away, bouncing as he landed before rolling back to his feet. Jin wasn't so lucky and was sent flying farther back, slamming into one of the remaining walls. His body slowly slid down in the crater his back had created, his eyes glazed over in pain.

Lysandra looked over as if just noticing the humans for the first time. She noticed the warding specialist being knocked out and merely scoffed. "Impudent human. You know not your limits!"

She then shifted her head as if hearing something in the distance before dashing to the left, avoiding the gunfire from the Cassul and the Jackal. The bullets followed her path as she dashed from side to size, ducking and twisting to avoid the incoming fire. Perigrin, seeing an opening threw a pair of his holy blades towards the Bloody Countess. She saw the blades too late; they struck her in the side as she evaded the last of the bullets in the clips. She screamed out in pain before focusing her black-eyed glare on Perigrin. There was a long period of silence before she merely said in a voice that chilled his veins. "Stay out of this little Catholic or I will hang you by your own entrails." She then reached down with her left hand and pulled out the two blades that struck her. He cursed to himself as he watched the wounds heal far too quicker for his liking, pulling out another sword and slowly reaching for his pistol.

Suddenly he heard a voice behind him. "She is right human. I don't care if you are one of those blasted regenerators, you are interfering with your betters. Stay out of our way." He slowly turned his head to the side and looked over his shoulder to see a tall man with black hair, dressed in a red coat and black clothing standing there. In his hands he held what the priest recognized to be the pistols of Seras Victoria and realized that this was the carrion that he had helped awaken when he had been in the Hellsing manor. He looked into the man's yellow sunglasses and felt as he if was staring death in the face. _Sweet lord..._

What confused him was the small wounds that were peppered all over the ancient vampire's body. Small punctures were all over his shoulders and one rather large hole near the vampire's right leg. He raised an eyebrow as the vampire walked past him, Alucard's gazed locked on the woman glaring back at him, her rapier poised to attack once again. _Shouldn't those wounds be healing? That blade can't be silver or blessed, otherwise she wouldn't be able to wield it..._ Perigrin question before the battlefield burst forth once again.

Perigrin turned and dashed towards the other Iscariot who had been trying to awaken the fallen warding specialist. Perigrin grabbed his shoulder to gather his attention, saying "Change of plans. We're going to let them kill each other. We're moving onto the secondary objective." The Iscariot nodded, rising to his feet. He prepared to leave before Perigrin stopped him and pointed to the unconscious Division S agent. "Take him as well. We may need him alive later to break that barrier." The Iscariot nodded before pulling Jin's body off the ground and carrying him away from the raging battle that was taking place within the room. Perigrin gave the two battling vampires one last glance before following after his ally. _I hate to admit it but I don't believe I'm capable of killing either of those two on my own. I'll let them kill each other then come back with reinforcements. However, I must find and kill Victoria now before its too late!_

The battle was raging, as the dark powers of the two vampires clashed against each other, leaving large blasts of what sounded like thunder in their wake. Both vampires were wearing large grins, showing off the pleasure they were experiencing in fighting against a strong opponent. They charged each other once again, Alucard with his guns blazing. Lysandra merely allowed herself a laugh that sounded almost as insane as one of Alucard's as she dashed directly towards him, readying her rapier for another thrust. Alucard answered her laugh with one of his own as he continued to fire at her, the lust of battle driving his attentions.

She suddenly vanished in front of Alucard and he frowned before sensing her presence behind him. Without looking, he pointed both guns behind him and fired. He smirked as he watched one of the shots catch her in the left arm again, blowing off a large chunk of flesh that was sent flying, bouncing off the ground a few times before stopping. He didn't have that much time to celebrate however as the side-slash from her rapier caught his right wrist, cutting it off. The flesh around the wrist vanished instantly, causing the large black gun to drop to the ground. Alucard dematerialized immediately, yelling his pain into the darkness before re-materializing about twenty feet away from her. He was breathing heavily as blood flowed freely down through the lack of his right hand and wrist. He grit his teeth before finally asking, "What is that weapon?"

She only grinned before answering. "Do you know what was used to hunt our kind before the humans realized we were weak against silver?"

He frowned at that. _It can't be. That element doesn't even exist anymore, I destroyed it all long ago._ "You're lying."

She only laughed at his accusation. "I am not lying. I was able to hide this from you oh great one. What you are being killed by is the last of those blades. The power of the blades that can stop the healing factor of an undead."

He growled in his throat as he tightened his grip on his remaining gun. "Mythril..." The blood dripping to the ground seemed to please his enemy greatly as she slowly sheathed her rapier. He scoffed out, a cross grin covering his face. "You can't honestly think that such a thing will stop me from killing you." He paused for a moment before looking at his missing hand. "It may slow my regeneration but it can't stop it permanently."

She only shook her head before extending her arm towards the floating relic. "Of course not. That's why I led you here." She then closed her eyes and began muttered in a dead language that very few still understood. Alucard's eyes opened widely as he realized what she was doing. The vampiric tongue was far too unmistakable. She then opened her eyes and smiled once again, her black eyes fading to their normal red. "Now die!"

Alucard looked down to see that he was standing directly in the symbol that had been carved in the ground of the throne room. As Lysandra finished her order, the gashes in the floor glowed a dark red, forming archaic runes the likes of which Alucard had not seen since he had first been imprisoned by the Hellsing family. The ruins immediately flashed once before shooting upwards, surrounding the elder vampire and binding him in place as they slowly shrunk until they were holding his arms and legs. He struggled in vain in order to break free from the binding spell but it was too powerful. The only thing he had ever felt that was more powerful was the blood contract spell that held him in service to the Hellsing family. He cursed under his breath and growled as he continued to try and break free.

Lysandra let out a sigh of relief as she stumbled back a few steps. She had known that the fight against Alucard would be draining but she had never felt this exhausted before. She quickly rebalanced herself and shook her head before marching slowly towards Alucard, drawing her rapier as she came closer. She stopped in front of him and smiled at his look of pure hatred before asking. "I offer you this chance once more Alucard. Join me and rule this country by my side or die, forever this time."

He glared at her before bursting out into laughter. He continued to laugh for several minutes before glaring back at her with an insane smile on his face. "Never wench. I may be bound by magic to serve the ones who killed me, but I will never bow my head to one of my own children."

She looked annoyed by his bravado before saying. "The apprentice will always surpass the master Vlad." She then raised her blade and placed it against his chest, his heart precisely. She then gave him a sad smile before saying, "Then this is good-bye. Give my regards to all those that you impaled in your youth."

He only laughed in response. He gave her an insane grin before saying, "Seras will send you to join me soon enough wench. I will be waiting alongside the rest of the 7,405,926 demons of hell!"

Lysandra only smirked before drawing her arm back, preparing to thrust. "Good bye, no life king." She then thrust forward, not flinching in the slightest as his blood sprayed into her face. She licked it from her lips before removing the blade and turned away. She only gave a small smile as the Devil's Bane flashed once, a dark red light filling the room for several seconds. _The blood of the ancestor... now I only need the blood of the child and it'll be over... _The binding spell that held Alucard in place vanished, dropping his body to the ground.

Alucard felt almost nothing at the moment, only watched his vision fading. _So even I can die... Not even a painless death by silver, but a prolonged one with one of the mystical blades... How fitting..._ As the minutes passed he felt more of more of what had seemed like his immortal life-force drain away. Before passing on he heard a voice cry out his name and directed his gaze towards the door.

Standing there, even to his blurry eyes, was what he had wanted to see most. Seras Victoria was standing there and even despite the look of horror on her face, she was still beautiful to him. _Good-bye my dark child. You are now free from my shadow..._

It was only then that the vampire's eyes shut and his body collapsed into dust.

-

For those wondering. The statement that Alucard makes about the 7,405,926 demons of hell. I actually pulled that from the Hellsing manga since i had recently acquired the rest of volume 6. It's something the Iscariots chant as they go into battle. Supposedly its referring to the most complex hierarchy of demons devised by a man named Johann Weyer. The belief is that hell is made up of an estimated 7,405,926 demons serving under 72 princes.

To anyone who thinks that I killed Alucard off just because I don't like him: well its true that I do not like him, but that doesn't have any bearing on this story. His death is something I had planned long before I actually wrote the parts of the story where he comes back. Hate me if you want, but save the flaming, bitching, and moaning for when I finish this tale. The next chapter is going to be Seras-centered and will basically lead up to what will be the turning point of the story. I might even stop there for a while and switch back to writing Dark Futures for a while.

Ja.


	26. Chapter 25

Here's the next installment. I kinda forced this one out and you'll probably be able to tell even if I hadn't mentioned it. I have stuff to say about this chapter but I'll leave it for the end so I don't spoil it for any one. Though from the chapter title you can probably figure parts of it out.

I'll probably be taking a small break after the next installment, that or switch back to working on Dark Futures or my Star Ocean stuff for a while. I've also been really meaning to play Chrono Cross since every time I talk to someone about a rpg, they bring it up. Trouble is actually finding the damn thing now...

Finals sucked but at least they are over and I got out of the semester with a 3.1, perhaps moving up to a 3.3 depending on how much fate likes me. I find it oddly amusing that the average on one of my finals was a 63

**Chapter Twenty Five: Omega and Alpha**

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Seras stood there, her shotgun in hand as she glared at the knife wielding pure blood vampire who seemed to be waiting for some sort of response. She only raised an eyebrow before asking with slight amusement. "You intend to fight me with only a knife?"

Lorenz merely smirked back as he held the dagger in a reverse grip in his left hand. His right hand was out in front of him and he seemed to be waiting for her. Finally he spoke, "I think my knife will be more useful than that toy of yours." He then beckoned for her to attack with his right hand.

Seras shook her head before raising the shotgun, taking aim, and firing. Lorenz easily dodged the blast, but both knew that it had not been meant to kill him. No, that shot was merely the sign for the battle to begin. Lorenz immediately ducked his body lower before shooting forward with speed that any track runner would be envy of. His body was almost a blur with how fast he was moving, shifting back and forth as if vanishing and reappearing with no pause.

Seras had very little time to react. Granted she could follow his speed, but it didn't mean that she could avoid him without any effort. In fact, she was forced to use the shotgun itself to block the man's knife slash in order to remain safe from the attack. The blade and gun wobbled against each other dangerously, the pressure that each user was exerting showing itself. Seras only smirked in response. She was met by a similar expression on her opponent's face. As if sharing one mind, the two jumped apart from each other, once again placing distance between them.

Seras only held up the shotgun in minor amusement. "Looks like you were right." She said with a hint of amusement as she gestured to the mark of damage in the barrel of the shotgun. There was a deep gash in the metal, as if the knife had been used to engrave the barrel in a careful procedure. She tossed the useless gun aside before lowering her hands. She then merely stood there waiting for Lorenz to make the next move.

He raised an eyebrow at this reaction, his eyes noticing the small knife that was sheathed in her belt. "You're not going to bring out another weapon?"

She shrugged, "You're a pure blood. Short of pure silver, is any weapon really going to do any good against you?" She then slid her left foot forward slightly, settling into a loose defensive stance. She raised both her hands into clenched fists, her left about an arm's length away from her at shoulder height while her right was closer to her chest and head. She then flicked her left hand opened and gestured for him to come and get her. "Let's get this over with. Although I would love to give you a prolonged torture for that damn little stone of yours, I have bigger fish to fry."

Lorenz only frowned at the gross underestimation of his abilities. His grip tightened on his blades handle before once again charging Victoria. She merely stood there, waiting for him as he charged, a malicious glint in her eyes. He only swung his arm towards her face, intent on tearing the flesh from her face in one solid movement. He was shocked to find his arm was no longer moving. Instead, Victoria's arm had come up and met against his upper arm, halting the slashing movement. In addition, she had ducked her head slightly, providing herself even more leverage against the man's swinging slash. His eyes narrowed dangerously as his right hand reached behind him to withdraw another knife as he continued to apply force against her arm, trying to bring the knife closer to her face. With one quick motion, he withdrew a second knife and thrusted it forward towards her chest.

Seras saw the thrust coming and released Lorenz's arm in order to dodge the thrust. She parried his right hand off to the side and sent a low kick that connected with the side of the man's knee. He grunted in pain but kept up his attack, his twin blades dancing in a waltz of steely death. Seras kept dodging, an ever present smirk on her face as she seemed to dance within his thrusts and slashes.

Finally after avoiding another one of his knife thrusts, Seras grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder. He was thrown like a rag doll at the unexpected counter and slammed into the ground with enough force to cause the concrete to crater slightly. Seras didn't release her hold on the man's arm, instead she sent her foot downward directly into the man's shoulder, causing him to grit his teeth in pain before throwing his other knife at her head. She quickly jumped away, just in time to have the blade take a few strands of her hair as it whizzed past her face. Lorenz flipped back to his feet, transferring his knife to his uninjured arm and reaching for another already. Seras only raised an eyebrow in slight shock before running a hand through her short hair. _He's quite good._

Similar thoughts were racing through Lorenz's mind as he repositioned his knives. _She's aiming for my joints... Interesting style..._ "Is that standard operating procedures for hand to hand in Hellsing?"

She only grinned before shrugging. "Nah... My D11 days actually." She then raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised you recognized what I was doing."

He merely flicked one knife at her before charging in again, a maniacal grin covering his face. _She is a worthy challenge, I shall enjoy this._ His grin only widened when he saw her grab the knife he had thrown by its handle before reversing her grip on it and charging towards him as well. The two met in a clashing of blades, the metal grinding together as the two opponents tried to overpower the other. Amused grins covered both vampires' faces as sparks seem to fly as the metal knives ground against each other.

Seras sent a low kick towards the man's leading foot but Lorenz merely raised it up slightly in order to avoid the ankle strike. He slammed it back down and tried to loop his lead leg around hers but she merely brought her leg back from its kick, pulling his own leg and now the two were pushing their knives towards each other but pulling each other closer as well. It seemed similar to some sort of demented tug of war.

Seras suddenly twisted her body, bringing Lorenz closer as her leg pulled back a little. Then without hesitating in the slightest, she slid the attacking knife off her own as shifted as it whizzed past her face before she gave Lorenz an elbow directly to face. He felt something crunch as he retaliated with an upward elbow of his own, striking her in the solar plexus.

Seras felt the wind race out of her lungs from the strike, her grip on the knife loosening as her body was lifted into the air for a moment before Lorenz delivered a strong backhand that sent Seras flying through the nearest wall. The wall crumbled under the impact before she came to a halt in the next room, somehow twisting so that her feet landed first. As she landed she skid backwards a few feet before coming to a stop, raising her head to glare at her opponent after doing so.

Lorenz came walking through the hole in the wall slowly, as if measuring his next move. He had pulled another knife and merely stood there, waiting for her next move. She only grinned before lowering her body slightly and tossing the knife up in the air and grabbing it with her right hand in a normal grip. She raised her left hand up in a beckoning gesture then said, "Come on knife boy. I ain't got all night. I've got vermin to kill."

Lorenz only smirked before he charged again. The two once again began fighting within a heartbeat. The dancing of steel in the air echoed as the two circled each other, each trying to either disarm the other, literally, or aiming for blows along the chest or neck. Seras at one point gave him a good shot to the face after she had thrown the knife downwards and impaled the other vampire's foot through his shoe, catching him off guard before she sent an elbow directly into his throat. He dropped like a sack of rice, falling to his knees in pain before Seras smirked and grabbed him by his head and threw him towards the nearest wall.

He slammed through it headfirst, landing rather undignified looking in the next room. He came back to his feet quickly enough but found himself on the defensive against the now unarmed Seras as she sent punch and kick combos at him with amazing rapidity. He was shocked for himself looking for opening but was too busy trying to block her strikes or avoid them. He jumped back after one such series of attacks, the final one being an upward kick that clipped his lip as he jumped away.

Finally Lorenz smirked as he saw his chance and dashed forward to sneak inside Sears' guard and slammed the knife into her chest. If one was to look closer, they would soon realize that now only had he penetrated her chest, but her heart. Seras' body suddenly froze before she dropped to the ground, coughing out blood. "Bastard!" She wheezed out, her hand slowly going for the knife.

Lorenz only smirked before turning his back on her. "Stay there and suffer like a good fledgling vampire. My master will decide what to do with you later." He was about to say something else when something hard connected with the side of his head, sending him flying off to the side before slamming into another wall. He pushed himself off the ground and glared back towards the direction he had flown from and frowned when he saw Seras standing there with a small grin on her face, the knife that had been stabbed into her chest now resting on the ground.

She saw his frown and chuckled slightly. "Come on. You had better have some more skills than these knife tricks otherwise I'm going to be very upset. Let's pick up the pace a little here, if you keep things this dull I won't have any fun."

He slowly stood up and withdrew another knife before saying, "You shouldn't be able to shrug off a blow like that so quickly. Even if the blades aren't silver, they will still deal a fatal blow if they strike the heart."

Seras only smirked before cracking her knuckles. "Who says you hit my heart?" She asked mischievously with a grin. Seeing the man's confused expression she explained, "Oh come on. Don't tell me that you, being a vampire with centuries more experience than me, judging by your arrogance, doesn't know about moving your heart?" She scoffed before continuing, "Any pure blood who doesn't make that top priority deserves what they get."

Lorenz's frown only deepened at that little tirade. Of course he knew about the importance of moving your heart to avoid blows from prospective enemies. He had moved his own to the area by his left thigh centuries ago. However... _She is far too young to even attempt such a thing... not to mention even think about it. Most vampires do not even realize for around three to four centuries that the heart no longer pumps blood like when they were alive._ "I see. My apologies then, Seras Victoria. I have been taking you far too lightly, and for that I apologize."

Seras only smirked. "Apology accepted. Now can we get this over with. I'd really like to go watch Alucard go humiliate your master."

He scoffed under his breath before bringing both knives in front of him, crossing them in an 'x'. "Then let us begin." With that being said, the shadows around Lorenz seemed to take form and Seras watched in idle fascination as about ten 'Lorenzs' appeared around him, all holding knives in the same manner. One of them lowered his stance before commanding the others. "Kill her."

The dopplegangers all charged at that command, brandishing knives as several of them threw the weapons towards their would-be victim. Seras only scoffed before moving out of the way of the knives, only to find herself cornered by two knife wielding enemies, both going for neck slashes. She smirked before dropping low to avoid the attacks before grabbing both of their wrists and whipping them past her, slamming them into opposite walls. She watched in amusement as the two forms faded back into the shadows, having been defeated. She looked back towards the other enemies and said, "This can't be all you have. I'm not going to even break a sweat if you keep going easy on me."

The clones only frowned in unison before charging her again. She dashed in between several of them, giving a few of them punches to their faces or strikes through the chest. Lorenz frowned as he saw his henchmen falling to Victoria's attacks before summoning more of them and sending them towards her, their only intent to kill the younger vampire who was proving to be far more challenging than Lorenz had originally thought.

Seras only scoffed as she saw the newcomers attempting to join the fray against the rest of the clones that Lorenz had created. _If he keeps this up, we could be at this forever._ She did a quick count of the charging enemies, both new and from the previous round of cloning before smirking. _Too easy._ She only laughed, "Do not think you are the only one with a few tricks Lorenz!" She then cracked the knuckles in one hand before slamming an open hand against the floor. As a result, several spikes of pure darkness rose from the floor, impaling the nearest clones.

The sudden attack causing the remaining clones to jump backwards, avoiding the spikes that shot forth from the ground. Seras only remarked coolly, "Hmm..." She then smirked as a pair of clones threw knives towards her. She caught both of them before spinning in place and throwing them again in the same direction that they were heading in the first place. The two flying blades slammed into the necks of two clones that had been trying to sneak up behind her, causing them to fade back into shadow.

Seras only chuckled as she felt two more clones approaching from behind her and ducked under the thrusts before slamming both arms backwards, her elbows jamming directly into the crotches of both clones. Lorenz, although he didn't feel the pain of the blows his dopplegangers received, couldn't help but wince as all men do when they see such an attack. The remaining dopplegangers exchanged looks of displeasure before nodded and charging once again only to be met with more spikes of darkness, this time shooting downwards from the ceiling towards the floor until they hit the floor and were absorbed back into the shadows. Lorenz wasted no time in summoning more clones and sending them after her, now getting thoroughly annoyed by the woman's abilities.

She watched Lorenz still waiting there as if impatient for his clones to finish the job. "You know, its kinda sad that it only takes one hit to dispel them. That and I still know where the real you is."

Lorenz only smirked as he stepped out of his relaxed stance and prepared to charge her. "Like that'll help you."

She only smirked before charging towards him, ignoring the clones that seemed to surround her. Lorenz only smirked as he saw her extend her hand towards his chest, preparing to impale him. _Fool._ He reached back with his own knife to stab her before he widened his eyes in disbelief. Her hand shot short of his body, striking downward as she seemed to push off the ground with her momentum to jump backwards and slam a knee into the face of one of the clones on the side of her. The clone stumbled back from the blow, dropping one knife to the ground while it grabbed its broken nose. Seras only smirked at his irritated expression before the rest of the Lorenzs vanished.

If Lorenz was annoyed before, now he was downright pissed off. _To see me so easily..._ "How did you know?"

She shrugged. "I assumed that the one standing there standing out from the rest wasn't you, even though that's what you thought I thought. It was a nice idea but apparently you don't realize that your little dopplegangers give off far less dark energy than you. It was basically trying to determine shades of gray. The darkest one had to be you, so I figured if I struck you I'd be able to get rid of all of them at the same time."

He only snarled under his breath. "Impressive Seras Victoria. As expected of a pupil of the no life king." He released his face to reach for another knife and positioned himself again, as if ready to try again. "This dance shall continue until I am no longer entertained. Be sure to entertain me longer, Hellsing Elite!"

Before either of them could say anything else, Seras felt a surge of dark power radiate through the palace. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before, and it caused her thought patterns to freeze in place. Her body was actually shivering at the intensity of the power, as if already knowing what had happened and was terrified of the prospect. She looked to Lorenz only to see him standing there, his blades still poised in a defensive position. He was looking at her as if confused but also wondering what she was doing._How can he not feel that? This darkness... it couldn't be..._ It was at that thought that a sharp pain raced directly through her heart, similar to the feeling of having a wooden stake driven through it. That had actually happened to her once in a moment of carelessness about ninety years ago, and true to the words of her former master, it did hurt like hell. She fell forward slightly as the pain hit her, causing her to cough several times into her gloved hands. She slowly removed her hands from her mouth and her eyes widened when she saw her own blood staining the white gloves. The realization of what took place only took a nanosecond to register in her mind.

Lorenz only smirked before slowly walking towards her. "Looks like my master has succeeded." Seras only turned her head slowly to glare at him, as if she was prepared to kill him on the spot if he continued speaking. "We never should have sent that trash Incognito after him. I suppose when you want something done right, you need to do it yourself."

She only rose back into a standing position, her mind only half listening to his taunts. The rest of her focus was on trying the resonating dark energy that she associated with Alucard. She was failing miserably at that before she hissed out at him. "Lies. There's no way she could best him. He is the strongest."

He only smirked before continuing to walk towards her. "Evidently not. You have felt it yourself. Your precious master... is dead."

He almost never finished his sentence before Seras moved. His eyes widened in shock as she was standing next to him, glaring at him with only one eye. He blinked in shock. _That movement... Has she been holding back on me?_ He didn't have time to process any sort of reaction before a mind-splitting pain registered in his eye.

He stumbled back, his hands going to his face as he screamed out in agonizing pain. His hands found a knife jammed into his left eye and without any sort of hesitation, he yanked it out, screaming bloody murder as he did so. He was breathing heavily as he reopened his right eye, glancing at what he pulled out of his eye socket. He blinked once before the realization of what was currently in his hand hit him. It was one of his own knives, one that he had previously been using before she felt the death of her master. _How...?_

He didn't finish the statement before a fist impacted against his face, sending him flying backwards through a wall before bouncing off the ground and impacting against another wall. He was still holding his hand over his left eye and growling in pain as he glared back at the woman who had taken his eye.

No longer was Seras glaring at him, nor could he sense any sort of malice from her. She wasn't even looking at him, as if he no never mattered in the first place. "Out of my way punk. I don't care if you are older than me, you still are trash to me." He then cursed as he watched the shadows envelop her and she vanished into the darkness. His left hand was still holding his eye socket and he growled out in pain and frustration.

"YOU DAMN BITCH! I SWEAR THAT I'LL TEAR OUT YOUR HEART FOR THIS!" He bellowed into the darkness that no longer contained his enemy.

* * *

Seras reappeared in a full run as she raced down the hallways, homing in on the remains of Alucard's presence. She was running solely on an emotion she had once thought she no longer possessed, fear. The pain in her chest had never left her, if anything it was slowly growing in intensity. _Please don't let me be too late!_ She thought desperately as she felt Alucard's signature fading.

She finally turned around into what was to be the final stretch of her dash towards her former master when she was greeted by Perigrin and one of his Iscariot lackeys carrying an unconscious Jin over his shoulders. Perigrin stepped forward as if to say something but Seras merely dashed past him. She cried out over her shoulder, "Perigrin, pull your forces back. The shit has officially hit the fan. Get everyone as far from her as possible!"

Perigrin cursed loudly and was about to pursue when he felt his companion's hand on his shoulder. "Father Perigrin, I realize orders are orders but the unholy energy in this place is massing in on itself. She's right, something big is about to happen."

Perigrin merely scoffed before giving a nod. "Contact our forces and those blasted Protestants as well. We're falling back. Tell them that." He then took a deep breath before walking after Seras.

"Sir?"

"Go. I will complete our mission. The Lord's divine protection shall not fail me now." He then took off in a burst of speed, leaving his companion alone with his unconscious cargo.

* * *

Seras suddenly halted in her run outside the main throne room. She could no longer sense Alucard's presence and it disturbed her to a level she couldn't even begin to fathom. The pain in her chest was raging intensely as well, causing her to actually grab her chest in pain. She closed her eyes and forced the pain down before continuing on, entering the throne room. Her eyes widened in complete and utter shock as she took in the sight.

Laying on the ground in a pool of blood was her former master. His body was lying limp there, and even from this distance she could see that his eyes were glazed over. She screamed out in loss. "Alucard!"

She only watched as he slowly turned his head to her. He looked at her as if surprised to see her there before giving her a smile. It wasn't like his normal smile, the somewhat insane, 'I'm about to annihilate all my enemies' smile. No, it was actually... pure and gentle? _No... It can't be... He can't..._ She was thinking to herself in disbelief as she moved towards him with all her speed she could muster. It was only then that she heard a voice in her head speak, _"Good bye... my dark child..."_ Then as she reached his body, it collapsed into dust, leaving the red trenchcoat and the twin pistols lying there on the ground.

She fell to her knees in shock, her eyes locked on the pile of dust that was resting on top of the red trenchcoat. The intense pain that had been gnawing at her chest was no longer present, now only leaving a dull ache. She slowly reached towards the dust and ran her gloved hand through it, as if not believing it was there. "No... it can't be..."

The Bloody Countess merely watched the scene in mock disgust. _Oh how precious. I'm starting to feel bad about it now._ She thought sarcastically as she sheathed her rapier and slowly walked towards her new target. Seras showed no indication that she was even paying attention to her master's murderer, she seemed locked in shock, her eyes fixated on the ashes below her as the woman approached her. Not appreciating being ignored when so close to fulfilling her ambition, Lysandra raised her hand and tried to slap Sears Victoria across the face.

The slap never connected, which was expected out of the hunter. Instead, Seras' hand had raised up instinctively to block the blow. Without even looking at Lysandra, who was only staring back with a mixture of contempt and amusement, Seras asked in a quiet voice. "You killed him?"

Lysandra only brought her arm back and took a step back, placing her hand on the hilt of her rapier, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. "Yes. He won't be coming back this time either Seras Victoria."

There was utter silence for a long period of time before Seras' body began trembling uncontrollably. Soon after, soft and quiet laughter seemed to echo in the cavernous room. Lysandra was confused by the laughter. _What is with her?_ If she had deigned to take a closer look at Seras at that point, she would have noticed the rivulets of blood flowing from the woman's eyes as she cried and laughed at the same time.

"He can't be... He just can't be." She said mostly to herself as she reached for the knife in her belt and slashed her arm. Blood flowed freely from the wound that was already starting to heal but Seras didn't seem to care about the wound healing. She held her blood dripping arm over the pile of ash, the liquid of life falling into the pile like water from a tap. Seras' eyes were locked on the falling blood, as if expecting something to happen. _This can't be happening! He was supposed to be unkillable!_

Lysandra only watched in scorn at the younger vampire's attempt to save the life of her former master. She finally spoke, after watching the woman empty a good portion of her blood into the ashes. "You know, the belief that a vampire will return if virgin blood is poured on its ashes is an old wives tale. One of the many misconceptions that the humans have created about our kind. Even if it was true, do you really think that it would work with the blood of a vampire, virgin or not?"

Seras retracted her now healed arm and merely continued to stare at the ashes that were formally Alucard. The tears of blood were still flowing but Seras slowly rose to her feet. With one slow motion, she brought her arm up and wiped her eyes, leaving trails of blood along her coat's sleeve. She then turned to face Lysandra, her eyes glaring pure hatred at the elder vampire. Red stains lined her eyes, similar to as if she had been wearing makeup and it had been smeared. "You killed him." It wasn't a question, it was a cold statement that seemed to imply intense pain and suffering to anyone listening.

Lysandra only smirked once more before saying, "That is correct. I killed the bastard."

Seras' glare only intensified at that statement before she narrowed her eyes. "You will pay for that. I will kill you in the most painful way possible for doing that, just like Master would have done."

Lysandra only chuckled as she slowly removed her rapier and waiting with the blade at her side. "You are merely a child. I don't care how much he trained you, or how proud of you he was, you are nothing to me."

Seras only grinned an insane grin before raising her gloved hands in front of her. "You forget something, Bloody Countess. Alucard could never fight you at full power due to the binding seals of the Hellsing family. Had he been unsealed, you would've been torn apart like an old dish rag, and you know this." Seras paused for a moment to enjoy the sneer that crossed Lysandra's face before continuing. "I am bound by no such seals." The gloves on Seras' hands burst into dark purple flames as she continued to glare at her enemy. Lysandra took a deep breath from the onslaught of dark power emanating from the younger vampire, caught off guard by the amount of dark energies now resonating from the brunette in front of her. There was a strange glint in the younger vampire's eyes now as she spoke one more thing before vanishing from Lysandra's gaze.

"I am everything that Alucard could not be, Bloody Countess! And he's waiting for you in hell!"

Lysandra didn't see the fist strike her jaw, but she definitely felt the blow. She flew upwards into the air before sensing something behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Seras floating there, still glaring at her with rage that couldn't be given a true title. _Fast._ Lysandra could only think that single word before receiving another strike to the back, this time Seras' foot against the elder vampire's spine. Lysandra's face twisted into an expression of exquisite pain as she was sent flying back towards the ground at an insane speed. She recovered enough from the blow to twist her body so that her feet hit first, and upon landing she dashed to the side just in time to avoid an attack from above. Lysandra stopped moving and her eyes widened in shock as she saw Victoria slam into the spot where she had landed only moments ago. The ground underneath had become a large crater and dust was settling everywhere from the impact.

Lysandra wanted to curse but the pain from her jaw prevented her from doing so as she stared at the woman who was still in the center of the crater, her fist extended to it was hitting the ground. Lysandra tightened her grip on her rapier as she realized that in all liklihood, her jaw was broken. She could already feel her body starting to repair the broken bones and teeth but it didn't do anything to settle her thoughts. _Fast... and stronger than I anticipated... What the hell did she do?_

It was then that Seras slowly turned her head until she was glaring at Lysandra. Burning within those crimson eyes was a burning hatred that would only be doused with the death of the elder vampire. Seras slowly rose to her feet before turning to face the elder vampire. She then held out her, now uncovered, hands into the air above her head for a moment. Lysandra couldn't help but be slightly impressed as the twin pistols of Alucard flew towards her hands and she snatched them out of the air before bringing them to aim at Lysandra. "The souls of the damned cry out for vengeance Lysandra! You will die!" She screamed before unleashing a torrent of gunfire towards the elder vampire.

Lysandra only scoffed. _Those guns are impressive indeed, but useless if their bullets can't strike me._ She then quickly dashed in between the bullets, charging towards Seras, rapier poised to strike her heart. _Your power is impressive child, but we should end this quick. I've waiting this long and I will not have you stop me now._

Lysandra was broken out of her musings as she thrusted towards Victoria's heart, aiming to pierce it and end this fight as quickly as it began. The mythril blade struck true, embedding itself in Seras' chest as the younger vampire stopped shooting at the blow. Seras blinked in disbelief several times before coughing out blood and dropping her guns as her eyes rolled back into her head. Lysandra only smirked, "Weren't you going to kill me child?"

Seras' eyes suddenly regained their focus on Lysandra before the younger vampire smirked. Lysandra only raised an eyebrow before she realized what had happened. _This child..._ Seras only said one word. "Boom."

Lysandra withdrew her blade as quickly as possible before jumping back as the body exploded with dark energy. Lysandra cursed under her breath as the backdraft from the explosion sent her flying several meters back before she was able to control her movement and land gracefully after flipping once. Immediately after landed she sensed something behind her head and she ducked without thinking as a kick was sent flying where he head had been previously. She swung her elbow back to strike Seras in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the vampire and effectively stunning her as Lysandra jumped away from the younger vampire again, this time landing in a defensive stance and glaring back at the brunette.

Seras was standing there with a crazy grin on her face, her eyes dancing in amusement as she regained her full height after the blow. She only smirked before saying, "Noticed the doppleganger a little late, eh elder?"

Lysandra only stared back at Seras, her emotions hidden behind a cold frown. _Our reports about her vastly underestimated her strength. No wonder Kylie lost against her._ "You are stronger than expected." She replied evenly, noticing the guns that were still resting in the hands of the younger vampire. She was holding them at her side, but she knew the woman would be able to raise them at a single moment's notice. Lysandra smirked before saying, "No matter. It'll only make this more enjoyable for me." She then made a gesture with one of her hands before the shadows near her began to form slowly into a shape.

Seras only looked on in mild interest as the shadows began to form something. _So she has an ability similar to Master's hell hound familiar... No matter, she will die tonight and Alucard will do the rest in hell._ "Enough playing around. Time to die elder." Seras then raised the two pistols and prepared to fire.

Lysandra only smirked as she then gestured towards Seras, her eyes turning a dark black color. "Tear her to shreds." She commanded the shadow next to her. The shadow finished forming into a human sized lizard resembling a dragon that roared in fury once before charging the younger vampire.

Seras only raised an eyebrow at the charging shadow dragon before opening fire, the silver bullets ripping through the being like a hot knife through butter. She realized far too late however, that the dragon was merely a distraction so that Lysandra could get closer to her. She took several quick slashes at Seras, catching her off guard and giving her numerous wounds along her arms and legs. Seras finally dodged and dashed back towards the center of the room where her master's ashes lay. She quickly gave her arms and legs a quick look over, frowning at the numerous gashes in her trenchcoat and limbs.

"Behind you." Seras heard a voice and looked behind her only to see a fist heading her way. It impacted against her nose, crushing the appendage and causing Seras to slide back several feet. Lysandra only chuckled as she summoned another one of her dragons to attack Seras.

Now Seras was getting annoyed as well as angry. She holstered the pistol she held in her right hand before grabbing the jaw of the dragon with her right hand. With a sneer she clamped shut down on the creature's jaw, snapping it like a twig before letting go and sending a chop through the beast's neck. _It may look impressive but its no stronger than master's hell hound familiar._ She then smirked as she sensed Lysandra circle behind her. _I expected more out of her. Did master really lose to this trash?_ Seras smirked as she sidestepped to her left and grabbed the thrusting blade by Lysandra's wrist. With one quick motion, Seras had thrown the elder vampire to the ground and was holding the Cassul in her left hand against her head. "Game over Bloody Countess. Say hello to Alucard when you see him in hell."

Lysandra's eyes were wide and full of shock. The dark power that was emanating from Victoria was far stronger than she ever imagined and it was still growing. _That shouldn't be possible. She's under two hundred years old, she shouldn't be able to wield power on that scale! No fledgling is this powerful!_ "What the hell are you?" Lysandra cried out, her voice no longer calm as she stared back at the youngest spawn of the strongest vampire.

Sears merely glared down at her before smirking. "Your executioner." She then pulled the trigger, internally sighing with relief at the night's conclusion...

...Only to hear the dull click of an empty clip in the gun. Both vampires blinked in surprise and shock but Victoria was the first to recover. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Seras may have been the first to recover but it wasn't by much. Lysandra didn't waste anytime with disbelief, she merely tightened her grip on her rapier and twisted once more, swinging upwards. The rapier, although slender, still was sharp and the added effect of the mythril cleaved through Victoria's left arm, severing it off at the shoulder. The arm fell to the ground, landing in a sick thud but its sound was overshadowing by the screams of pain being yelled out by Victoria at the top of her lungs. Lysandra wasted no more time and took notice of their position before kicking Seras directly into her chest, sending her flying backwards towards the area where the devil's bane was still floating in the air.

Seras' body impacted against the invisible barrier with such force that Seras' eyes opened wider than one would even think possible. Her body was held in the air there, trembling wildly as she screamed out in pain as if being electrocuted before finally falling to the ground, most of the back of her trenchcoat burned away, revealing burn marks on the pale skin on Victoria's back. Her left shoulder was bleeding heavily and it took Seras every once of will power to not cry out in pain.

Lysandra could care less of her opponent's condition at the moment. When the blood from Seras' shoulder in the ground near the devil's bane, it once again flashed a sinister red, the likes of which she had never seen before. She only smiled in victory as she slowly approached the Devil's Bane. She dispersed her own barrier spell as she edged closer, stepping past Seras who was still writing in pain from her lost arm. With a smirk, Lysandra grabbed the devil's bane in her hands before laughing out in genuine happiness. _I've won! Now the first stage of my dream will come to pass._

Lysandra then glanced over at Seras who was slowly rising to her feet, still clutching her left shoulder. She looked like hell, most of her dark blue trenchcoat either burned away or torned to shreds. Blood was running down from a wound in her forehead and her red eyes had lost their insane fervor from earlier. Her eyes were starting to glaze over, as she looked between her missing limb and the dark artifact. _Probably from blood loss..._ Lysandra mused before thinking, _She is still too strong of an unknown factor. She needs to be eliminated now._ She then raised her right hand towards Seras while still holding the devil's bane in her left hand. She spoke a few words in an ancient tongue that no one save another true vampire would recognize before a ball of purple flame appeared in her outstretched hand. She then spoke to Seras who was watching in confusion. "I thank you for your blood Seras Victoria, and for the blood of our mutual master. You two were excellent performers in this play, but I'm afraid your scene is over. Now die." She said coldly as the purple flame shot forth from her hand and impacted against Victoria's chest. Seras was sent flying backwards as her body was engulfed in purple flames.

* * *

Father Perigrin was still rushing towards the battlefield, his sword and pistol already drawn. He was grinding his teeth as he sensed another influx of dark power from somewhere and in the back of his mind a flag was raised. _This power... That foul wench has released her seals again... Will I really be able to do this, to any of them?_ He shook his head as he reached the main throne room again. He said a quick prayer before rushing in, only to see a body fly past him and slam against the wall next to him. He blinked before turning to see a woman's body burning beneath purple flames. His eyes widened in shock as he realized it was Seras Victoria, the flames slowly dying down as she slid down the wall. He then looked back into the center of the room and dropped his pistol in shock. "Sweet mother of god..."

Standing there in the center of the room was the Queen of Darkness, holding the Devil's bane in one hand like a child with a new toy. She only looked at him in amusement before saying, "You're too late Catholic. Today England falls to me, the rest of the world will follow soon enough. You've also performed well, but like with Victoria, your scene is done. Tell that to the rest of your thirteenth chapter, that is if you survive." She then closed her eyes and began mumbling something that he couldn't make out.

He watched in shock, fear, and amazement as dark purple energy began to form around the elder vampire and then shoot off into the sky, breaking through the throne room's skylight. _God save us all..._ Was the only thing that Mathew Perigrin, member of the Vatican's thirteenth chapter and vampire hunter, could think before he blacked out.

* * *

Jacob Williams watched from his look out position with slight boredom. After the initial assault, he really didn't have much to do and was merely watching the palace, wondering what kinds of chaos was taking place inside. He didn't feel nervous, as he fully knew what his comrades were capable of, not including Victoria. He was however, shocked to see a pillar of purple energy shooting into the sky from the palace. The cigarette he had been smoking fell to the ground before he felt a rush of dark energy past him. He shivered at its intensity and somehow, just knew that something had just changed for the worse. He slowly brought his hand to his communicator before speaking directly and in a nervous tone. "This is Crackshot to any humans receiving this message. Pull back, repeat fall back immediately! Get the hell out of there!" He yelled the last part, already packing up his rifle and running from the pillar that was starting to grow in diameter.

Lycos voice rand through his ear, "Crackshot, report. What the hell is going on over there?"

He didn't bother to look back before responding, "The end of the god damn world, that's what!"

* * *

Yeah, so you might notice that the fight between Seras and Lorenz was not nearly as good as you may have anticipated. Basically, I know exactly how I picture this fight, I just couldn't put it into words. So once again, I'll probably go back and rewrite this chapter one day, perhaps just that section.

Part of it is because I wrote the 2nd half of the chapter first actually. I knew how I wanted the fight with Lorenz to end, and since I didn't plan to draw out the battle against Lysandra as much as I did, I figured I'd write the end first. Well, the end ended up growing as long as the Lorenz fight and by then I was convinced that no matter what I did for the Lorenz fight, it would pale in comparison to the scenes towards the end.

Eh, so basically this is the climax of the story. People complain about cliffhangers but in reality its the only way I know how to write. As I mentioned earlier, after the next installment, I'll probably take a break for a little while, or switch to working on one of my other stories or even one of the ideas I've been toying with. I like them, but I'm not sure where to take them plotwise. So I'm probably going to just take a break, kick back for a few days before breaking down and doing some serious summer job hunting.

Rurouni


	27. Chapter 26

Here's your next installment. Decided to stick with this a little more, since this chapter changed quite a serious amount from what I originally thought I would do. I had originally planned to do something similar to an interlude, only lasting a few paragraphs, but I like this better. Bite me.

Scurifer: Actually, I had forgotten that had happened in the anime. Wow, its really been a long time since I've watched it...

And No, Alucard is not coming back. He's gone for good, hence the whole turning into dust thing. He's dead for good, deal with it.

**Chapter Twenty Six: Divergence**

"Even a caged bird, if clever enough, will find a way to escape its bonds to fly free once again."

It's never a good idea to dwell upon the past. To take the time to obsess over mistakes that couldn't have been avoided isn't healthy, since there is nothing to really change the present except the present itself. Of course, its good to take a look back every now and then to learn from one's previous mistakes, but you can't change the past no matter how much you may want to, even if for the greater good.

That was the troubling thoughts that plagued the man as he walked through the remains of what once had been the capital of London. He wore a long black trench coat, with a pair of black pants and a white long sleeve t-shirt on underneath. A pair of sunglasses covered his eyes as he walked carefully through the streets, as if expecting an attack at any time. A strange device was attached to his right wrist, while he held a heavy black case of his left shoulder with his other hand. A lit cigarette hung from his mouth as he sneered at the remains of what had once been a nice city. A small cross with a ruby in its center hung from a chain around his neck, swaying wildly as he walked.

It sent a shiver down his back every time he came back to this city of death, for that was exactly what it was. London was a mere shadow of its former glory and it pained the man to no end, not due to any Nationalistic pride or anything of the sort, hell he wasn't even British. No, it was due to the fact that he had been there when London's fall happened.

He shook his head to clear those morbid thoughts as he found what he had been looking for. He spit out the cigarette before walking towards the bar and pushing the door open with his right hand. A small chime rang as the door closed behind him but he ignored it, instead walking towards the bar. He then sat down at one of the stools, leaving the heavy case he had been carrying by the stool. He let out a heavy sigh as he laid his head against the bar, as if tempted to fall asleep on that very spot. _Has it really been that long since we haven't had to worry about being hunted down during the night?_ He was snapped out of his morbid musings as he heard someone cough. He lazily raised his head to look at the source of the noise.

Standing behind the bar with a bored expression on his face was an elder man who was wiping a glass down with a white dish cloth. He looked at the stranger as if expecting something before asking, "Can I get you something?"

The man raised an eyebrow before looking at his watch. "Isn't 10 a.m a little earlier to be drinking old timer?" The man asked with a hint of a smile on his face.

The old man scoffed before shrugging. "No time is too early since that damn rift opened." The old man's gaze was locked on something outside and the man sitting at the bar found himself drawn to whatever he was looking at. He frowned at seeing the familiar beam of purple energy shooting into the sky, spreading out among the atmosphere until forming a dome-like structure of pure energy with a diameter roughly the size of London. _At least it was at first..._

The dome of energy, or as many of the humans who still lived in this hellish land referred to it as 'the rift', grew at a steady but very slow rate. At first it had only covered the country of England. But slowly and surely, it expanded over the years at a steady rate. The man had no doubt that in another five years are so, parts of France and Ireland would also be within its influence. One of the many things that had broken England from its former glory.

When the rift opened, no one really knew what it was. People were able to pass through it with no problem, so no one really understood it until later on. Then again, the people of England had more pressing issues to be concerned with, such as staying alive and avoiding the slaughter groups of the vampire Lysandra. It wasn't until later when the United Nations, and the rest of the world for that matter, tried to contact England to figure out what the phenomenon was. Radio communications wouldn't pass through the energy, nor did any other sort of communication. England, for the lack of a better word, was sealed off from the rest of the world.

Even more curious was the strange way the glowing barrier reacted when approached. For some reason, living beings could pass through it with no problem. However, any plane or boat that touched the barrier was immediately destroyed. Not in an explosion or anything of that nature. They just... ceased to exist, as if someone had taken a cosmic eraser to that section of the universe and rubbed hard.

No one from the outside understood what was going on, short of the Vatican who remained silent. Eventually, the United Nations tried to send spy planes to see what had happened. Flying over the dome of energy, the advanced visual systems showed scenes that scared even the most unflappable people. The scenes of a destroyed country, destroyed as not seen ever before. With a quick response, a team of military and civilians were sent in to search for survivors and to ascertain what the hell happened to the once great country. The plan was to take a boat towards the edge of the barrier and swim the rest of the way.

The team never came back.

When a month passed with no word from the investigation team, the United Nations sent in a second team to ascertain the situation, and if possible to find the first team. This time the team consisted of special forces commandos from around the globe. Each section of the team entered the sealed country through different means, intent on figuring out what exactly was going on.

This time they got their answer through the only survivor from the second insertion. A single American Navy SEAL made it out the sealed country, being recovered by a United Nations patrol vessel at the edge of the barrier. He was heavily wounded, showing signs of harsh torture at unknown hands. Being dying on the patrol vessel, he handed over a single disk in a watertight container before succumbing to his wounds.

The disk revealed England's true state. It was a video recording of the Navy SEAL team that had entered England. It showed their progress as they slowly but steadily made their way towards the remains of the capital of England, the city of London. The devastation once again shocked the representatives of the world silent. Destroyed buildings, overturned cars on top of each other, and seemingly no hope in any survivors faces.

The disk also showed an ambush that took most of the SEAL team out. The United Nations ambassadors were shocked at appalled at the brutality that the SEAL team was slaughtered with. A small team of three man, charging the military commandos with a speed that shocked even the most disbelieving people. Several men and women had to leave the room as they showed several of the members of the SEAL team being torn apart like old dish rags. The fight was short, brutal, and bloody, leaving only the one SEAL surviving.

It was at this point in the video that a new figure entered the fray. With speed similar to the first three, he cut down them down with ease. His weapon raised many questions, as many had never ever heard of such a thing before but it was then that the video showed a hasty conversation.

_"Who are you and what are you doing here?"_ The voice betrayed that the speaker was an American, causing many to cast suspicious glares towards the American ambassador.

_"Same to you stranger. What the hell did you do?"_ Came the voice of the now deceased SEAL over the audio feed.

_"Vampires are weak against silver, haven't you heard?"_ The stranger asked in a bored tone as he turned away from the SEAL and began to look around as if expecting another attack.

_"Vampire? You're joking right?"_

It was at that point that the stranger turned to look at the SEAL with an astounded look on his face. The man's jaw dropped before he asked tentatively. _"You're... you're from outside the rift?"_

_"Yes. What the hell happened to this country?"_

The man looked at the soldier as if he was a rare animal before turning away and saying, _"Leave now Junior. I don't care how good you were before coming to this land, but you will stand no chance here. Go back home and spread warnings to leave this place alone."_

_"I have my mission to discover what has transpired here. I can't abandon it."_

_"Is that all you want to know?" _The figure asked, still not looking at the camera from the SEAL's visor. _"God abandoned this place to the devil. That's what happened."_

The video went on as the mysterious stranger went on to describe in detail the current situation of the country formally known as England. The people who watched the tape would have laughed at the tale, that is had they not already seen the destruction from the team's advance towards London, as well as the death of the majority of the SEAL team. Murmurs of 'vampires', 'silver bullets', and numerous other things were whispered as the the man went on, explaining how England was being used as a 'blood farm' to feed the growing vampire population. Any one who went against the forces of the vampire leader, whose name was revealed to be Lysandra, were slaughtered at the hands of her 'Freak' soldiers.

The stranger in the video suddenly rose and said, _"Now get out of here. This is no longer England; its the first layer of hell. Don't bother coming back unless you're packing a shitload of silver bullets."_ And with that, the man vanished from the SEAL's view, leaving the wounded man there to curse wildly at the retreating figure.

The world had no idea to react to the video. Many claimed that it was a hoax, something that many found insulting, especially the United States, as it was a team of their own that had been helplessly slaughtered. But in the end, no one really knew what to do about it.

The man in the bar shook his head as he pulled out a cigarette, shaking away the memories of the results of the first attempt to retake England. It was like the storming of Normandy during World War II. Only this time, the allies didn't win. Heavy loses along the English coasts were taken as vampire run armored vehicles and blood sucking soldiers killed all those who attempted to breach the coasts of England. The rest of the world had been driven back at least three times in the past ten years, each time losing more soldiers than they ever anticipated.

Of course, he and the bartender knew about these attempts, as well as the United Nations' viewing of the video. For some bizarre reason, either to further demoralize the surviving humans into accepting their fates as permanent blood donors, or perhaps to satisfy some sick amusement, one of Lysandra's lieutenants let the news spread across England through vampire-run radio and television stations. The man with the cigarette sighed as he exhaled some smoke, idly cursing Lorenz under his breath again. _Well either way I knew about what happened with that SEAL. I did tell him that they should not have come back..._

As the bartender walked into the back room, the smoker casually bent down to his bag and unzipped it with one hand. Giving a quick glance around, he withdrew a single small circular disc from the bar before zipping it back up. He quietly attached the disc to the underside of the bar before the bartender returned, bringing the man a shot glass filled with whiskey. The man put out his cigarette out on the ash tray before taking the shot without really looking at the bartender. He gestured for another which the bartender didn't seem to hesitate to refill. After taking a second shot the man spoke up again, "Old man, why do you suppose this all happened?"

The bartender shrugged as he poured himself his own shot. "Sonny, there's no rhyme or reason to why things happen as. Life is unpredictable."

The man chuckled at the elder man's response. "Damn Brits. You're all the same; never questioning anything."

The bartender shrugged before running a hand through his whitening hair. "As are all you Yanks." He sighed before taking another shot and saying, "Think of it this way. Supposedly ten years ago there used to be this secret group of vampire hunters, like the rumors say." The younger man's attention perked up at that, raising an eyebrow as he gestured for the elder man to continue. "We could blame all this on them if we really wanted to. The rumors say that it was their job to keep this sort of shit from happening right?"

The younger man's eyes glazed over slightly for a moment before noticing the far away look on the bartenders face. The elder man continued, as if no longer really paying attention to the man sitting at his bar. "But would that even be fair? The rest if of us didn't do anything to stop it either. Most of us are now just trying to survive, like the cowards we are."

The younger man smirked before standing and laying down some money on the counter before the old man spoke again. "Keep it. If you're who I think you are, I won't be needing it after tonight."

The younger man frowned before lowering his sunglasses slightly to peer at the bartender. "Oh?" Seeing the bartender's unconcerned stare, he only smirked. "My reputation precedes me I suppose."

"Not too many still come to London. Even those survivors that live in this horrible place of death don't go out much at all, even during the day. Let alone for a simple drink." The bartender said casually, as if he didn't care. "What time?"

The man lost his smirk and gave the man an apologetic frown. "You know I can't tell you that."

The bartender sighed, accepting the answer. "I don't care anyway. That punk vampire kid runs this place at night." He then reached over to where the edge of the bar was and withdrew an unopened bottle of whiskey. He tossed towards the man the bottle as the younger one bent over to pick up his luggage. "Take this. Celebrate your victory with it, or save it for when you resistance boys finally kill that blood sucking banshee."

The man snagged it out of the air and smiled. "Much appreciated old timer. I must go now. I still have work to do." The bartender merely shrugged before pouring himself another shot of alcohol. _After tonight, this place is not going to be here anymore._

_

* * *

_

Nightfall came as it always had, much to the displeasure and discomfort of the human survivors who remained in England. Unlike in the past however, where the creatures of the night came out and hid in the shadows, stalking they next meal in order to avoid detection by humans, freak vampires walked openly, reveling in their freedom gained a decade ago by their leader.

The scene disgusted the two of them as they stared down from atop one of the remaining buildings in London. The man was standing on the balls of his feet, his knees bent out as he lowered himself. The sunglasses from earlier were gone, no longer needed to disguise who he was; at this point it wouldn't matter anymore. The cross seemed to glitter, even in the darkness of the night as he glared down at vampires openly walking the streets, laughing and joking. He lit a cigarette before offering one to his companion who shook her head. He shrugged before placing the package in his pocket and sighed. "This is Wildcard. We're in position." He said as if uninterested. He then covered his ear before speaking to his companion. "Sorry. Forgot you're underage."

The young woman ignored him, instead took the time to turn her head from the streets below to the full moon in the sky. "The targets' status?" She asked, her voice light in the air but carrying a harsh edge.

Xavier Flynn removed his hand from his communicator as the shortwave radio traffic came through. "Target A is still in position at location 1."

Another voice spoke up, "Target B has reached location 2."

A third voice, "Target C is missing. Repeat Target C is missing. Awaiting orders."

The young woman sighed. "Wait for Target C. If Targets A or B begin to move, be sure to inform me."

"Roger that ma'am." The three voices came through in unison.

The young woman turned to face Xavier who was staring up at the sky with a bored look on his face. She frowned before walked towards the edge of the roof and staring down. Her hand slowly came up to grasp a cross necklace of her own, similar to Flynns but carrying a pair of emeralds along the vertical piece and a pair of sapphires in its horizontal piece. She closed her eyes as she sighed, the horrible thoughts of what would be happening to her should she not be wearing this necklace racing through her mind. "You should relax more. Nothing we can do for the moment." Came Xavier's voice from beside her.

She cast him a quick glance before turning her glare back to the streets below, or more specifically, a bar that a large number of freaks entered frequently. Their reports had been sketchy at best, but it was rumored that many of Lorenz's lieutenants frequently visited this establishments, or others like it around the city. She only scoffed under her breath as she brushed her shoulder length blond hair behind her ears before muttering, "Maggots..."

"Actually, these are some humans and freaks down there too." Xavier said, still not looking at the woman, a hint of a smile on his face at his own little joke.

"Don't patronize me Flynn. I'm not in the mood for your games tonight." The woman said softly, as if tired. Her voice still carried an edge to it however, implying a warning to the man who was over fifteen years her senior. She turned her gaze back to the streets below before musing aloud to herself, "I wonder, when did mankind become so weak..."

That garnered the man attention as he looked at the woman with open interest. "Weak?"

She sighed, gesturing with her hand towards the streets below. "Like you said, those maggots down there, catering to the wishes of undead scum." She sighed, "Did all hope die when the rift opened as well?"

He shrugged before taking a drag off his cigarette and blowing it above him. "Not everyone has the ability to face fear. There are those who don't care about anything, so long as they get to live. They would allow themselves to be trampled over for no reason, just because they believe that is the way it is." He paused for a moment, realizing that he had the young woman's attention with his quandary. He took another drag before continuing, "Not many people can fight against fate like we do."

She gave him a curious glare before turning back. "Death before dishonor." She said in a bored tone.

He shrugged. "To some people. Then again, people like me don't have any need for anything fancy like honor." He then just smirked, "Isn't that a bit harsh?"

She didn't looked back at him but responded immediately. "Forgive me for growing up in an environment that's 'a bit harsh'."

She nodded in understanding before closing her eyes. It was then that a voice crackled across the radio. "Target C has entered the operations area. Wildcard, how are things on your end?"

Wildcard smirked, "You doubt my abilities?" He chuckled before his face turned serious. "Our target has been in there for quite some time. We would've noticed if he had left."

"Roger that sir. Then all targets are in position." Came the voice through the radio.

Xavier turned to the young woman how had now opened her eyes and was once again glaring down at the streets with coldness. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a small cylinder, a small red button on its top. She spoke into her own headset. "Excellent work. Fall back for now and conceal yourselves as necessary. Should you be found... you know what to do."

"Roger that." Came the voices as one through the crackled shortwave.

She turned her attention back to the streets below and now only looked down there as if pitying those 'maggots' she seemed to so despise. She then raised the cylinder and tightened her hand around it, her thumb resting on top of the red button but not pushing on it yet. She took a deep breath before quoting to herself, "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation."

A few voices came through the radio, answering in unison as Flynn did next to her. "Amen." She then closed her eyes as she pressed the button.

The result was immediate. The two hunters took a step back from the edge of the roof as the shockwave rushed through the block as the bar below them and across the street exploded with a purifying fire. The woman raised an arm in front of her face to protect her face from the oncoming rush of heat before the shockwave passed and all was quiet, save for the sounds of structures burning and the agonized cries of the undead on the streets below them.

The two hunters once again took a step towards the edge of the roof. They stared down at the destruction as the flames danced high into the air. Freaks ran from the remains, burning in agony as they tried to make sense out of what was happening to them. Xavier only smirked before muttering in a low voice, "Burn fuckers, burn."

His companion only nodded in response. "Indeed." She watched for a few more moments before saying, "Come on. Let's head back."

He only nodded before replying. "Yes ma'am."

The two turned to leave only to be met by a loud voice. "You ain't going anywhere you resistance dogs!" The two turned to see a small band of vampires, some of which were heavily burnt, standing on the opposite side of the roof. They all had pissed off looks on their faces and one was at the head of the pack. "Damn humans. Why don't you just lie down and beg for your lives. We might spare you."

The woman only frowned at the demand before asking her companion a question. "Wildcard, I thought you said the target was still present in the bar."

He shrugged, seemingly not caring about the small band there to kill them. "Eh, so I slipped. It happens."

She seemed to accept that as answer before nodding in understanding. "Ah." The group, seeing that they weren't being taken seriously was about to attack when the woman spoke again, her blue eyes glaring at the enemies before her. "Wildcard, take care of this filth." She ordered, her voice harsh.

"Yes ma'am." He said, stepping forward and pulling his right sleeve up slightly, revealing his weapon. "I was getting bored with these terrorist-type attacks anyway."

The leader of the vampire group snarled at the two before ordering, "Tear them apart." The vampires charged blindly, intent on tearing the two before them apart and feasting on their blood. The leader merely waited where he stood, ready to enjoy the sight of the two humans who had tried to kill him die painfully.

It was then that a splash of blood hit him in the face, but to his shock, it wasn't the blood of his two victims. He watched in dumbfounded silence and shock as the man tore through his subordinates, using some sort of wire. The blood that had hit his face was the remains from one of his men. Within a few short moments, all that remained of his subordinates was a scattered pile of dust that the man in the black trench coat was standing over, waiting in a stance and beckoning for the leader to attack. So absorbed in watching his men get slaughtered by this... human, he failed to notice the young woman reaching into her coat and withdrawing a small gun.

Without nearly as much ruckus as Xavier Flynn, she took aim with both hands and fired her gun once. The bullet hit its mark accurately, one bullet straight to the heart. The vampire looked over at her in shock before collapsing into dust. She replaced the gun back in her coat before Xavier turned to her with a smirk on his face. "A tad anti-climatic, isn't it?"

She gave him a cutting look before turning away from him. "Let's go. Our work here is finished."

He only smirked at her attitude. It reminded him a bit of another female hunter he once worked with. _Seras never did like my humor either, but at least she had some of her own. _"As you wish, Lady Hellsing."


	28. Chapter 27

Sorry for the delay. I just haven't really been in the mood to work on this or DF for quite some time. I kinda just caught up reading some books and failing to find a job so this kind of got pushed to the back burner. The main hurdle was the second section of the chapter, as I knew what I wanted to convey but I didn't think I could pull it off. I don't think I did, but people will get the general idea I was shooting for.

With that being said, I will say the second section has some truly disturbing imagery. If you have a weak stomach or don't like reading freaky stuff, you may want to skip over it.

**Chapter Twenty Seven: Remnants**

"To be a revolutionary you have to be a human being. You have to care about people who have no power."

It was an odd thing, the position they had been in since the rift opened. Xavier Flynn had spent most of his life hunting down vampires in the shadows, dispatching them with extreme prejudice. It had been one of the defining things in his life that made him, himself. To use the terms that he had learned from old man Sanders back during his Division S training, he was a hunter and weapon against the undead until the day he died. Thus he often found it disconcerting how one who had been such a successful hunter was now hunted daily, along with his allies.

He sighed as he followed the young Alice Hellsing deeper into their hideout, well beyond the outskirts of London. Going anywhere remotely near London was always risky, but more so for the young lady than anyone else. The hideout itself was the remains of a building that had collapsed into the sewer system when the initial rampaging took place after the rift had opened. Their entrance was basically the building but over time they had expanded down further into the sewer system. It seemed like it was the best place to hide at the time, and as the resistance's numbers grew, so did their underground base.

He idly played with the cross necklace he wore, his eyes glancing towards the red jewel in its center. His eyes glanced at the young girl's necklace, knowing for a fact that the only reason that she could even consider getting that close to London was due to the effects that the trinket had. _Our warding specialist is to be commended for that piece of work. It's probably the reason we've been able to hide for so long as well, if what Victoria once said about the scent of a Hellsing's blood is true._

As the two walked forward, Flynn ignored the men and women scattered throughout the wreckage. He knew the looks that would be on their faces, especially upon seeing the daughter of the 'cursed' Hellsing family. Looks of hope, desperation, resignation, hatred... The list goes on, depending on each individual but there was one that was always present despite any other emotion one might have. It was the feeling of loss that could be read in their eyes, knowing full well that life would never be the same again.

His companion suddenly stopped outside a large metal door. It had been built to cover one of the sewer system's old drainage pipes that no longer functioned. Since the damage to the country had been so widespread, about half of the sewer system didn't actually work as necessary but Lysandra's minions didn't care. The door resembled that of an old bank vault, large hinges on it that look immovable to the naked eye. She knocked three times against the metal, the hollow banging echoing around them, before pausing then knocking another single knock. She then took a step back, coming to stand besides Flynn as he looked around them, shooting glares at the survivors that were shooting the young girl dirty looks. _It ain't her fault you ungrateful bastards..._ Flynn found himself thinking as the door before them began to groan before opening. Without hesitating in the slightest, the two walked through, Flynn casting a final glance before the door once again closed.

They were met by a small group of men. One stepped forward, an eye patch covering his right eye. "Agent Flynn, Lady Hellsing, please follow us. We've been expecting you." The two nodded before following behind the man, the man's associates trailing behind them. They had guns ready to fire pointed at the backs of the two, but neither let this bother them. It had become routine, which in itself was a sign of what lengths humanity had been driven to.

The hallways were dark and dreary, as one would expect from the sewers. On the edge of the hallways, spaced approximately twenty feet apart were oil lamps, giving the bare minimum of light in order for people to find their way. It was a creepy environment but considering they knew they practically lived in a horror novel, they adapted with little fuss. Every now and then there would be another branching tunnel with its own makeshift 'torches' leading the way. The place was a rat maze if there ever was one.

The procession continued for at least another ten minutes before the man with the eye patch spoke once again. He looked mostly at Flynn before holding out his hand. "Weapons." From the tone of voice, one could tell that it was not a request. Alice removed the small pistol she had and ejected the bullet clip before handing the firearm to their guide. She shot a glance to her subordinate who only smirked before detaching the silver stringing device from his wrist.

He handed it over to the man with a hint of amusement. "That better still work when I get it back Cyclops." The man instantly bristled at the remark as he unconsciously tightened his grasp on the weapons in his hands.

Alice looked to the side with a bored look on her face before saying. "Wildcard, don't cause any trouble." She then faced the man with the eye patch before bowing her head slightly. "I apologize for my companion's rudeness."

The man scoffed under his breath before nodding to the men behind the two. He stepped out to the side while another took his place, opening the door for the two. He gestured for them to enter and the two did so with little problems. The door slammed shut behind them but neither really cared about that. They were far more focused on the three men sitting at the table in front of them.

The room was small, but it was out of the way and was only used by a select group of people. A small oil lamp hung overhead; it was near impossible to get electricity down here. Not that they would try, considering it would eventually lead the vampires to this place. The light flicked as the lamp swung idly from its perch, illuminating the room with an orange glow. She knew all three of the men, though there was only one that she held any real favor towards. The man in question rose to his feet as the two entered, a look of relief on his tired old face.

Alice Hellsing brushed some of her hair away from her eyes before speaking, "Mission accomplished." Two words, uttered so monotone it could have been as if someone had been speaking about something as mundane as a children's book, rather than a series of explosions that tore through London earlier that evening. Xavier mentally flinched at the girl's tone, wondering what had happened to the innocent little girl that they pulled from the remains of the facility. The standing man walked over slowly and embraced the young lady without warning. The Hellsing heir did nothing to fight it. She gave him a worried expression before returning the embrace and whispering softly, "It's alright Christopher. I'm alright."

The old man in question released her and wiped a tear from his eye. "You must stop doing this lady Hellsing. You're going to give this old man a heart attack one day." He then took several steps back and waited while the young woman's focus turned the two men at the table.

The first was one that was to be expected. She had remembered the man from when she had heard her father died. He had come shortly before the rift opened. She thought him to be a strange man, though ordinary. It wasn't until much later that she realized exactly what he was. She had never really cared for god, but sitting in front of her were one of her few allies, a man of such. Father Matthew Perigrin, a member of the Vatican's special forces.

After the failure of the assault on Buckingham, the Vatican's forces were ransacked as vampires decimated their ranks. The confusion of the opening of the rift had paved the way towards their downfall. With the aid of Hellsing's forces, the Iscariots who had aided them in their attack on Buckingham were able to escape along with the remainder of Hellsing's forces. Father Perigrin had emerged as their leader but according to what she had heard from both Agent Flynn and several other Iscariots, the man had changed drastically, as if he had seen something that a mortal should never have seen. He was quiet and collective, and almost never spoke of his faith in any way, shape, or form. Many of the resistance had taken to calling him 'the fallen priest.'

She shifted her gaze from the stoic Perigrin to the other man that sat at the table. This man, as far as she was concerned, was an odd third factor, the likes of which neither Lysandra nor the hunters had thought of. He was in his late thirties to earlier forties, blond hair trailing down to his shoulder blades but tied up into a ponytail. A vertical scar ran from his left ear down to his chin, as if some had tried to carve his face off. His green eyes surveyed the room with an air of indifference, as if he didn't really see them at all. A cigarette was in his mouth and he slowly took a drag off before speaking, his voice sounding confident but lacking any sort of amusement. "All three targets were eliminated?"

Alice frowned slightly at the leader of the resistance. He had been the leader of a rather large band of criminals that had flourished in the underground, known only as 'The Coyote.' Supposedly a former member of the British army, prior to the rift opening he had spent a good ten years or so building up his connections and power. He had once had a hand in everything ranging from extortion to assassination prior to the opening of the rift. He even had information on the Hellsing institution, something that was classified even at the upper echelons of British society. His aid after the rift had opening had been unexpected but Alice had known they would be lost without it. The man had brought men, weaponry, and information that the remaining hunters had desperately needed.

The man was the leader of the resistance, as his men made of the majority of the forces. Without his support, the men from Hellsing and the Vatican would have been wiped out in five years, but his sudden alliance saved them in more ways than one. He wasn't really liked by the soldiers of Hellsing or the Vatican, but it was better to have him as an ally than an enemy. He fought without honor, with no regards to what happen to innocent lives.

Alice at one time had hated his methods but after growing up in the post-rift world, having to hide from vampires at every turn and watching people cower in fear instead of standing up to fight, she no longer cared. She saw the fools that didn't fight back as cowards and as she grew into her teenage years a layer of indifference had been put up as she fought.

Alice snapped out of her musings before responding to the earlier question. "I have confirmation of the death of the targets. We ran into some trouble but we handled the situation."

Father Perigrin frowned slightly before asking, "Were you followed?"

She look insulted that the man had even suggested such a thing before replying. "Agent Griphten was part of our team. He says we were not followed. That is proof enough for me."

The Coyote merely smirked at the cross look on the Iscariot's face before saying, "Calm down Father." He then looked back to Alice and nodded. "Excellent work then Lady Hellsing. Those three were high in Lorenz's chain of command. That should send a clear message to those blood sucking bastards."

Flynn scoffed at the empty claim as he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. _Lorenz could give a rat's ass about a few instant freaks under his command. It's not like they can't be replaced._ Flynn was one of the many who didn't like the Coyote. He didn't trust him and had been very wary when the criminal leader had offered his aid. It was simple enough; the man didn't trust the operatives from Hellsing either. The Division S agents were treated as if nitroglycerin; a deadly weapon but incredibly unstable. Their loyalty was to the Hellsing institution, unlike many of Hellsing's common soldiers. They had fought to an unholy degree for the institution, many of which for good portions of their lives. So in turn, they were treated as special forces in the resistance and it separated them from their old colleagues in the institution. Over the course of several years now it was nearly impossible to determine if a member in the resistance had come from Hellsing, Iscariot, the Coyote's own men, or from the myriads of citizens who had secretly joined their cause, thus very few remained loyal to the young heir to the Hellsing family.

Alice didn't bother to respond to the Coyote's words. She merely took a seat at the table before asking. "What's our status?"

Father Perigrin spoke first, "I have put some to work on placing holy blessings on the ammunition that we do have but it will not nearly be as effective as silver bullets. We recently obtained a good portion of silver but none of our smiths are capable of crafting bullet shells, we just don't have the equipment necessary. I ordered them to focus more on melee weapons." He shook his head a few times before adding, "My men will give instructions on melee warfare with vampires."

Alice nodded before turning to the Coyote. "What of our supplies?"

The blond-haired man slid further into his seat as if pondering something. Finally he spoke, his voice somewhat soft but bearing what seemed to be bad tidings. "Our last raid was successful and we have enough food to keep the men going for a few weeks, a month at best if we ration it correctly. However I do not know how long we can keep relying on raids to replenish our food supply. Lysandra's forces having been watching us far too closely and I do not think it would be wise to make another such raid for some time. We need to find other ways to obtain supplies."

Christopher finally broke his silence and added, "We are also running short on medicine and medical supplies. Winter will be coming soon and I do not think we will be able to last another winter at this rate."

The Coyote nodded. "Correct. I have some people doing some research into that problem though. They are searching through old hospitals that were destroyed when the rift opened. The facilities might still have some untouched supplies but I'm not holding my breath."

Alice closed her eyes before letting out a large sigh. _It seems like we're running short on time. We couldn't keep this up forever._ She frowned as she rubbed her eyes, her weariness starting to take a toll on her body. "We need information on Lysandra's movements in Buckingham itself. We need to make a move soon."

The Coyote nodded. "I already have sent some men of mine in. They don't know how to find this place so there's no risk in that regard." His eyes widened slightly before he spoke up again, "And my sources also turned up another interesting piece of information."

Flynn opened an eye but didn't say anything. Alice spoke up, "And what would that be?"

The Coyote reached into his pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. He read it quickly to himself before summarizing. "Lysandra is looking for some very specific people." Sensing the air in the room chilling slightly he continued, "One is you, Lady Hellsing, for obvious reasons. She knows that you are one of the key factors in the resistance and probably plans to kill you in order to destroy your institution for good."

Alice merely sighed as she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "What else is new?" Flynn couldn't help but smirk at the young girl's nonchalance at the statement. _Perhaps I'm rubbing off on her after all. Ol'man Hellsing would have my head if he were still alive._

"The information on the other is sketchy at best. Apparently her name hasn't actually been spoken in quite some time so my men were unable to actually determine who she is. All my people know is that its a woman. She's rumored to only have one arm and apparently hasn't been seen since the rift opened.

Alice frowned before looking to Flynn. He saw her look and shrugged his shoulders. The young woman then looked towards the old man who had taken care of her for most of her life and was met with a similar response. She looked back towards the ex-crime lord and asked, "Any particular reason?"

The man frowned at the paper before tossing it on the table. "My source isn't completely sure but it seems like the woman is a threat to them somehow."

The room was silent for some time after that, each person silently wondering on who the person in question was. Finally Alice let out a rather large sigh before asking, "Gentlemen, do you require me for anything? If not I wish to rest, it has been a tiring night."

Christopher nodded before shooting a glance towards the other two leaders, as if requesting they allow the teenager to rest. The Coyote nodded once and Perigrin did likewise. Alice then rose from her seat and turned and walked out of the room, the elder former butler accompanying her. Flynn watched to two leave with a curious look but kept his comments to himself, muttering something indiscernible under his breath. The former military man turned to the Division S operative and asked, "Is she alright Agent Flynn?"

Flynn shrugged. "The little princess puts up a good front but she isn't cut out for this. She may insist otherwise but her skills aren't up to the level where they need to be if she's going to be treading into enemy territory, even more so in her case." Normally one would think that Flynn wouldn't mention such at thing seeing how he didn't really care for either men, but it wasn't like it was a big secret. He took a long sigh before scratching the back of his head. "She isn't as cold as she pretends to be, and that simple fact will slowly kill her."

The Coyote frowned at that statement slightly before asking, "If you don't think she should be doing missions like that, why don't you stop her?"

Flynn only smirked. "She's a Hellsing; stubbornness runs in the blood. Besides, if I told her that she shouldn't go she would consider it a weakness and then insist on going in order to overcome it." He sighed lightly as he rested against the wall.

The fallen priest merely seemed to turn somewhat contemplating before uttering, "She used to be a sweet girl too, if not a little naive about the way the world works." He was silent for a few moments before musing, "A shame really."

Flynn remained silent after the soft voice of the Iscariot went quiet. _I suppose that's what happens when your mother is slaughtered right in front of you... and you have to grow up too many years too early..._ He then pushed off the wall, giving neither man a glance and walked out of the room, intent on breaking open the bottle of whiskey that the old bartender had given him earlier during the day. _Perhaps the others will share a drink with me._

_

* * *

_

The water fell around her body as she rested against the front wall. Her eyes were closed as she took some deep breaths, as if she were under examination. Her body trembled slightly as her memories tore through her mind, only offset by the sound of the falling water.

The water was ice cold and sent pin pricks of pain along her skin as they landed, leaving trails of numbness down her legs. She could barely feel her feet and the pin pricks caused by the cold were beginning to cause her stomach to itch. She gently rubbed her stomach as the shower slowed to a slow and inconsistent drip from above. She didn't bother to open her eyes when it finally stopped.

"Miss Alice, would you like another bucket?" Came the elderly voice of her attendant. She liked the old man, and considered him family in a sense. _Perhaps a strange grandfather or uncle?_

"Yes Christopher, if it wouldn't be too much trouble." She replied, looking upwards and opening her crystalline blue eyes. The low light was revealed and she watched as a hand reached over the makeshift shower curtain, an improvised piece of metallic debris that had been scavenged, carrying a pail of water. She watched as he slowly pour the water into the bucket above her head and a few moments later her shower once again started, through the few holes in the second bucket. The water was slightly warmer than before and Alice thanked her attendant. "I'll be fine, you may go."

She didn't need to see him to know that he was bowing slightly to her. "As you wish Miss Alice." A few moments later she heard him turn to leave and walk away, closing the door behind him.

She sighed under the water before reaching out around the 'curtain' and grabbing the pants she had been wearing previously. A pair of faded denim jeans that were slightly loose on her small frame but the closest they had been able to find. She fumbled in the back pocket until she found the small container that she had been looking for. She poked her head out of the makeshift stall and ran her hair behind her before she let out a large sigh before opening the small rectangular container.

Inside was a series of small blue cylindrical tablets. She stared at them as if evaluating them before removing one and closing the container. She closed the container and placed it back in her pants, hoping that her old friend would never find out about it. She didn't know if he would be able to take it in his old age. _He doesn't need to know. Only Flynn knows and he keeps his mouth shut though I can tell he doesn't approve._

The training to become an expert in Division S was rigorous and comparable to the training that was on par with the world's top counter-terrorism groups. However there was a distinct difference in the training that no other group ever did. Most spec-ops groups begin the training harshly in order to weed out who had the mentality to go on; separate the men from the boys so to speak. Those who couldn't handle the intensity dropped off, most grateful that they were no longer expected to go the lengths that the group required.

Division S was similar to many spec-ops teams in their overall ability but their mindset were completely different. You weren't nominated to join the elite division unless it was known that you would go all the way. It may take a while, but there had never been a single person to quit the harsh training. This wasn't a training to separate the men from the boys, it was a hellish life meant to break the men back into boys and then turn them into something more then men; it was meant to turn them into hunters. A large part of that training was condensed in the small blue pill that Alice Hellsing held in the palm of her hand.

She didn't know its actual name, almost no one did anymore. Since the fall of the facility, it wasn't like they could make more of them either, not that anyone really felt the need to. It was the shadow division's dirty little secret that not even her father had known. Those who survived the Division S training referred to the drug as 'The Blue Deathwish.' It was a concentrated neuro-toxin that had been discovered by Hellsing's researchers around seventy years ago. The goal had been to develop something similar to a vampire-repellent but instead they came up with the Deathwish. It was pure fear, concentrated and packaged into small little blue pills. Upon taking it, the effects were close to immediate and would last for anywhere from ten to thirty minutes at a time. It caused the user to be confronted by horrible nightmares that would override their sense of being, similar to a way that twenty-first century 'acid' or LSD worked.

Upon discovering what the researchers had discovered, the leader of Hellsing at the time had ordered the samples destroyed. The person in charge of the new elite Division S had other plans. He had the researchers develop more of the drug and test it for side affects. It was found to be non-addictive, which in reality wasn't all that surprising considering the amount of sheer terror the user felt while experiencing the effects, and didn't cause any long term physical damage. He then worked the samples into the training program, forcing the soldiers to experience terror in pill form while training.

The results were mixed. There were several who were driven mad by the effects, taking their own lives rather than facing the imagined fears. While not reported to the Hellsing Institution as a result of the drug's use, it did make many weary about taking the pills as instructed by their trainers. On the other end of things, the concentration of those who endured the effects tripled and more or less eliminated heavy fears in the agents. In the end, those who had become hunters while training will the blue pills were as close to fearless as possible, if not completely fearless. This could also be the root of several agents' obscure or maniacal personalities, such as Xavier Flynn or the late James Hawthorne.

She focused for a few more seconds on the pill before tossing it back and shallowing it. She could feel the pill dissolving in her throat and her body buckled slightly back underneath the bucket. The water was growing colder by the second as she closed her eyes, trying to prepare for what the drug would show her.

She felt her heart beating faster already and knew the moment she opened her eyes that she may start screaming. In a way she was glad that they were in the lowest reaches of the sewers. The large bank vault type doors were a hindrance in many ways, but at least they were soundproof. She heard rather than felt her breath starting to come in short gasps under the effects of the toxin and chided herself before forcing herself to take deep calming breaths. The water still dripped down on her, but it felt as if it was slowly becoming warmer. Alice Hellsing took more one deep breath before opening her eyes. When she did she once again wished she had listened to Flynn more than she did.

Her skin had rivulets of red dripping down her body. She frowned before she realized what it was and looked up. Instead of the bucket being there, a headless corpse of one of the men who had died in an operation she had run last week was hanging there, upside down by a rope tied around his ankles. She shuddered and couldn't help but take a step back, her back slamming against the wall as her speed seemed to be far too great. The stone wall scratched her back but it was impossible for her to tell if it had broken the skin or not. She was too occupied by the head being held in the man's arms, smirking at her as if he was going to try asking the girl on a date or something. A pair of puncture marks were visible near where the man's neck, or rather the remains of it were. "Weak..." Was all the corpse said before her focus shifted.

The wall she was bracing herself against suddenly shifted, no longer stone but now flesh as she felt warmth and something hairy pressing against her back. A second later, a series of hairy long legs wrapped around her legs, abdomen, and neck. A moment later she felt a searing pain on the back of her neck as something ripped into the flesh.

She couldn't but scream as the pain flooded her senses before she bit her lip and turned her head to see what was restraining her body. She screamed once again as he action tore some of her flesh out before coming face to face, or rather face to eyes, with the biggest spider she had ever seen. While not overly terrified of small arachnids like some people were, she could honestly say that she didn't like them too much. This wasn't a small arachnid; it was a very big arachnid . She saw her own blood dripping from the monstrosity's fangs and reacted as best she could in her restrained state. She twisted her body to her left side as much as she could and slammed her left elbow directly into one of of the giant arachnid's eyes.

The legs surrounding her body instantly poofed into a dark purple fog as the rest of the giant spider merely became a large lump of angry locusts that buzzed her head, someone all after her blood. A few tried to climb into her ears and she swatted as many of the insects away as she could before feeling herself choke on something. Before she could understand what was happening she felt her mouth open and several swarms flew out of her mouth, causing her to gag and vomit as soon as they all left her body. She fell down to her knees in her own vomit and blood, as well as the blood of the corpse that was still hanging there, its severed smiling at her the whole time. "Someone like you is going to save England. Don't make me laugh little princess. Perhaps you should stay in these sewers forever, you'd live longer." The smile then grew even more, twisting upwards beyond that of how a normal person would be able to smile. The smile actually began to split the face's skin, which shot out blood before the skin merely fell from the face, leaving the muscles behind chilling the young girl to the bone. "Perhaps you should go to that blood sucking bitch and ask to be spared. I'm sure she would love to have you as a toy of some sort, perhaps some young blood and an able body to give to her servants to play with."

Alice rose with fury at that, completely lost within her own hallucinations and swung a harsh right cross at the head. "Over my dead body!" She yelled as the fist impacted against the skull and muscle. Instead of falling like one would expect, the head, torso and legs merely exploded in a brilliant rain of blood. She felt flesh slap against her fact and raised her hand to wipe a piece of skin from between her eyes and she flung it contemptuously away.

As if responded to her attack, the skin below her neck between her breasts began to bubble and churn as if someone dropped a stone into a lake. She panicked slightly, feeling the strange rippling as it grew, and began to slap and rub away the irritation. Without warning a hand shot forth from the ripple and grabbed her neck, cutting off her air-flow. She trying to scream but couldn't without any air. She tried to use her right hand to pry the grip off of her neck but her eyes widened in shock as all she saw attacked to her right forearm was a bloody stub instead of a hand.

Without warning the hand burst into flames and she felt the heat enveloping her body and her neck to be more specific. The hands grip must have slackened slightly because she screamed louder than she ever before, this time in pain as well as fear. As she screamed the hand vanished and so did the flames but Alice didn't even notice as she feel forward once again. She landed on her hands and knees and stared at the darkness below her. She stood up shakily again but as soon as she did the ground beneath her seemed to loose its substance and she found herself falling. In panic, she trashed her arms out to try and catch something to keep from falling into the abyss beneath her.

She caught something fleshy and warm and tightened her grasp on it. She looked up and found herself staring into the face of her dead father, his eyes missing and the top of his head peeled off, revealing the gray matter beneath it. "Don't worry sweetheart, daddy's here." She screamed once again, which seemed to cause the deformed and desecrated visage of her father to laugh. "Don't worry honey. I'll give you a hand." No sooner than after he said that, his forearm that had been holding her up ripped from the rest of the arm, flesh and all akin to a noise of someone tearing into a steak.

She didn't know how long she fell for but screamed as unseens winds tore past her face, visions of dead men and women surrounding her. Finally her body just jerked to a stop, not like she had hit ground but rather she was merely jerked out of the air and was no being held silently against something. He noticed that her wrists were shackled and she was unable to move them.

She looked around, trying to find where the next attack would come from and saw nothing save total darkness. All the blood that had been running down her body earlier was now gone as well. She looked absolutely furious as she yelled, raising her head into the air as if challenging. "That can't be the best you got!"

It was then that she saw a small bit of light shining off in the distance. She couldn't help but look towards it, wondering if the effects were wearing off. It blinked three times before there was a large flash of light, temporarily blinding her. She opened her eyes, somewhat wishing she could rub her hand against them and her breath caught in her throat. _No..._

The scene was one that was familiar to her. She had dreamed nightmares about it many nights since it had happened nine years ago. It wasn't anything new to her, but it still sent a chill down her spine and bile rushing towards her throat, waiting to escape. Before her stood the one vampire that had changed her life more than she ever thought possible. He stood there with a sick grin on his face, as if enjoying the torment he was causing the girl with his sheer presence. Without so much as saying a word, he turned to the side and walked away towards where two huddled forms hid beneath some debris. Her eyes widened and she croaked out "No..." as she realized who the two forms were.

She closed her eyes as her body trembled as the scene from her past played out once again. _No, I don't need to see this again. Not again!_ Almost against her will, her eyes opened and watched the grisly spectacle as the vampire tore away the debris, throwing away the child with a vicious slap before yanking the older woman and tossing her down in front of him before reaching for the zipper on his pants. This time Alice forced her eyes closed against whatever had been keeping them open before. It did nothing to save her from the screams of fear, pain, and shame that echoed from the woman's mouth as the vampire from Alice's memories violated her mother. Eventually all that could be heard was her mother's sobbing as the vampire continued to rape the woman. It all ended abruptly as an ear-splitting shriek ripped from her mother's throat as the vampire sank his fangs into her neck.

Alice once again opened her eyes and watched as the vampire laughed and rose from the woman's bruised and beaten body. He licked his lips clean of the gleaming red blood that seemed to paint his mouth before turning his head towards the side where he had slapped the young girl earlier. The girl had woken up during the violation of her mother and kneeled there as if locked there, her eyes glassed over from the scene. Simply too much for her seven year old mind to handle. The vampire eventually stood in front of her and grabbed her by her neck and lifted her into the air, intent on sinking his fangs into the young girl's neck.

Alice couldn't help but smirk despite the horrific images she was seeing. She couldn't only do that because she knew what happened next in the nightmare. It was the first time she had killed and was a turning point in her life. Somehow the gun that had found its way into the little girl's hand was raising to the vampire's face as he lifted her into the air and she pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through the vampire's skull, causing the vampire to collapse into the dust from whence it came.

The little girl fell to the ground and grabbed her wrist, the kick back from the gun hurting her untrained arms. Alice paled when she realized what was coming next as the dead woman's body slowly began to rise. The little girl looked up in shock as she watched her mother begin walking towards the girl. By no means a normal walk, but rather a strange slouched one, as if it would take too much energy to stand up straight. The woman's eyes were hollow, as if they had been carved from the skull and her skin hung loosely from her body. The little girl saw this and began backing away in fear. "Mommy?" The little girl questioned, the weapon hanging heavy in her little arms.

The ghoul before her offered no response other than a howling groan. The little girl was visibly trembling in fear as the undead form of her mother began advancing on her slightly faster. The ghoul was only a second away from devouring the girl when the girl closed her eyes, raised the gun and fired.

It was at this point that world around Alice vanished. She once again found herself sitting underneath the shower bucket back in their headquarters. The water had stopped falling long ago and she was breathing heavily as the water drip-dried on her body as she sat with her back leaning against the wall of the stall. She looked around as if shocked to see where she was before everything proved to be too much for the teenager. Within moments, the cold mask she wore around her subordinates collapsed and she began to cry to herself.

* * *

She stepped out of the shower around fifteen minutes later, her hair tied back through the use of a rubber band. She was wearing the same clothes she had worn earlier on the strike in London but her face was still paler than usual. There were deep rings of red around her eyes, proof that she had been crying, even to those who didn't know her.

When she walked out she was surprised to see Flynn leaning against the wall as if waiting for her. His eyes were closed but he was flipping a coin in the air absentmindedly. She shot him a weak glare but he didn't even notice it before opening his eyes and giving her a steady gaze. Upon noticing the red rings around her eyes he frowned before reaching for something in his coat pocket. He handed her a metal flask which she tried to give back to him but he refused. "Drink. It'll take the edge off of the after-effects." She looked at him, surprise evident on her face before unscrewing the top and taking a sip. She almost choked as the harsh burning taste of scotch burned down her throat and she withdrew from the flask and began coughing, already feeling sick to her stomach before handing the open flask back to the man. He only took a sip of it himself before screwing the top back on and placing it back in his pocket. He didn't say anything for several minutes before saying, "There's been a development. The dog and the fallen priest have requested your presence."

She couldn't help but chuckle at the words of the agent who she considered an older brother. "You mean Coyote and Perigrin?" He only shrugged, a look of disinterest written on his face. She nodded before saying, "Let's go then."

A few minutes later they were back in that same room where they had met the two before. Christopher was there as well, a somewhat stunned look covering his face. _That... can't be a good thing..._ Alice thought to herself before turning to Coyote and asking, "What is it?"

He exchanged a glance with Perigrin and Christopher before speaking. "We have learned the identity of the woman that Lysandra's people are looking for. One of our spies was killed by the other was able to contact me and send the picture that Lysandra's people are using to find the woman." He withdrew the photo from his pocket and flicked it across the small table until Alice caught it and held it up to the light.

The image seemed familiar but she couldn't recognize it. She didn't have to however as she heard Flynn gasp behind her and then heard a coin hit the ground. Alice looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her agent's shocked expression. "You know her Wildcard?"

Perigrin looked confused for a moment before asking, "Shouldn't he? She is one of yours after all." He seemed to consider it for a moment before saying, "Then again you may not remember her."

She shrugged before looking at the photo again. "So who is she?" She asked, directly more towards Flynn than anyone else.

Christopher was the one who spoke up, "She is, or rather was I suppose, Hellsing's top hunter. She hasn't been seen for ten years, we all thought she was dead."

Alice looked at the picture of a brunette woman wearing a dark blue trenchcoat with a raised eyebrow. She didn't notice it at first but suddenly one little detail caused Alice's body to chill. "She has red eyes..."

"That's right. She was a vampire, a pure blood who served the Hellsing family for over a hundred years." Christopher said, pushing his glasses up as he explained. "Seras Victoria was the trump card of the Hellsing institution for many years."

Flynn didn't add anything but couldn't help but chuckle slightly. _So Draculina's alive. This could be interesting. _He couldn't help but grin maniacally as he heard the young woman's next words.

"Find her before Lysandra's goons do. If she is our ultimate weapon, it is well beyond the time to pull the trigger."


	29. Chapter 28

Well, heres the next chapter. I would respond to reviews right now but I'm way too tired and need coffee. For reference, Wylam is actually a town in Northern England, never been there, just took its name off of a map. Sue me.

This story is almost done. I really want to finish it and just put it behind me, so I can work on other things. I started my internship last week so I'm not sure how much time I'll have once I'm all set up and doing actual work for them.

Well, enough of that. Enjoy.**  
**

**Chapter Twenty Eight: The Protector of Wylam**

"You've never lived until you've almost died, for those who fought for it, life has a flavor the protected will never know."

_How the hell did I end up here?_ The question was floating through his mind as he traveled down the dirt roads. The traveler coughed a few times before continuing North in his search for his quarry. It wasn't as if he had a lead and that was the reason he was heading North, far from it. In fact other than giving him his assignment, not much else was given. He had just assumed that if what he was told was true, that his quarry would want to be as far from London as physically possible, something he often found himself wishing more and more for himself.

_I still don't understand why they felt I would be able to do this? Couldn't they send Wildcard or one of the others?_ The man complained internally as he glanced at his watch. It was three in the afternoon, at least if his watch wasn't lying to him. _A few more hours until night falls, looks like rain as well. I better find some shelter soon or I'm going to have to spend the night running with wet clothes._

Even as he cursed his situation, he knew that there really was no other choice. If his quarry had gone into hiding as the others suspected, the sad part is that no one would find her unless she wanted to be found. His tracking abilities were good, but realistically speaking he doubted that he could find her. _Unlike my usual quarry, she knows how to hide herself from me. Though I doubt he she even thinks I'm still alive. _

He broke away from those stray thoughts as the first drops of rain hit his face. He snarled a small curse out under his breath before pulling up the hood on the back of his coat and once again began trotting North along the road that had fallen into disuse, this time a bit faster with his steps.

* * *

"What do you mean that she's alive?" Thomas Griphten asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice as he stared at the twenty forth leader of the Hellsing institution. A child, no older than a teenager even. He had been there; watched as she grew up. It didn't surprise him that she turned out the way she did, it wasn't like there was any other choice for her. No... she had no choice, only to become one who could survive.

Alice Hellsing merely scoffed before flicking the photograph towards one of the few non-Division S class agents that were still loyal to her. He had never completed his training, thus he wasn't considered part of Hellsing's special forces, even though his abilities were top notch. His 'vampire-sense', as Wildcard referred to it as, was an invaluable tool that they had no qualms about utilizing, knowing when to run and when to fight. "Come now Lieutenant, you can certainly do better than that. I'd expect a response like that out of a fool that works for Coyote or Perigrin."

The man's eyebrow twitched slightly at the implied insult but merely picked up the photo. It was a picture of Seras Victoria, holding her prized weapons up as some gust of wind was blowing against her. _Looks like a dramatic shot... I wonder how the hell they actually were able to take it in the first place..._ He shook the odd thought off before handing the photo back. "So she's alive after all. We all assumed her to be dead when she never came back from Buckingham Palace after the night the rift opened. The Fallen Priest's story seemed to match that as well." This was true, as Perigrin had once described the damage that had been done to the trump card of the Hellsing institution, chilling some of even the most level-headed men. He looked to the young teenager and asked, "Any idea where she is?"

Alice shrugged. "No." She said it as if she didn't really care for the conversation at all.

Griphten raised an eyebrow once again before asking, "So... you planning on telling me the reason you called me here to show me a photo of Victoria?"

She merely gave him an even stare before saying, "We want you to find her." She must have seen his glance to Wildcard because she continued to speak. "In all reality, I'd rather send Flynn to find her, but in all honestly I doubt he would be capable of doing so."

"Hey!" Flynn cried out as if insulted. He saw the even stare from the young woman before crossing his arms and pouting at her. It almost made Griphten laugh, especially when the girl turned away from the silver stringer who muttered something colorful under his breath.

"The truth of the matter is this: we have no idea where she is, and you're our best tracker. In all honesty, I'd rather send someone else but I don't know who I can spare that would be capable of finding her. Father Perigrin offered to go himself but I doubt his intentions; he would merely find her for the sake of killing her, or trying to at least if even half of what I've heard about her is true."

Griphten sighed before scratching the back of his head. "What of my normal duties?"

She shook her head. "We don't have the resources to launch any attacks or raids for a while. Your absence shouldn't be a problem."

"So, you just want me to find her and bring her back?"

The girl actually smirked before saying, "No, just find her and ask that she returns. If she doesn't wish to, we don't have the capability to force her to. I won't risk any of my cards for the joker of the deck, so to speak."

Without hesitation or any sort of forethought, Griphten immediately looked at Flynn and said, "She's been around you way too long."

"Shut up rookie."

"Enough! Lieutenant, you have your orders. You have three weeks. If you don't find her before then, return regardless. Is that understood?"

Griphten merely nodded before saluting, "Yes ma'am."

* * *

_Of all the stupid things I've ever agreed to... _He found himself staring at the small town in the distance, the rain dripping his jacket's hood. Knowing that traveling too much tonight would be far too troublesome, not to mention bring up bad memories, he changed his direction slightly in order to find the path that would lead to the town.

Not more than two minutes later, he came to a halt. An annoyed grimace crossed his face as he lower his arms to the sides. His often used ability, one that had saved his comrades lives more times than he could count, was blaring wildly. _There's two... just plain freaks though..._ "You can come out. I'm alone, and unarmed." He said loudly, forcing his voice to take on an octave of fear.

A few moments later, his eyes instinctively locked on to a figure that was coming out from behind a nearby tree. The figure's amused voice echoed within the moist air, "So, this one knew we were here, eh?"

Griphten turned his head upward as the next freak, this one crouching on a tree branch above, answered him. "Seems that way. No ordinary human." He leaped down from his perch to stand next to his partner before greeting the man. "What brings you this way human?"

Griphten fought the urge to shrug, knowing full well that his indifference wouldn't be appreciated. Instead he focused on an old but good trick. _They aren't worth your effort so make it seem like you're not worth theirs._ "Just passing through sir. Please... please don't hurt me." He stammered out, trying to put as much fake fear into his voice as he could.

The second freak appeared far more cautious than his comrade, holding his machine gun in a ready position. "Traveling during times like this? Rather unusual, don't you think?"

Griphten bowed his head slightly before stammering out, "Ah... well... yes, I suppose so."

"Heh, the guy's about to wet his pants." The first remarked as if highly amused before letting out a small laugh.

The second one merely glared at Griphten before speaking again. "Even if I believed you, which I don't, it wouldn't matter. No one enters this area without permission from our leader. We're going to have to kill you regardless."

Griphten dropped his stammering and looked down at the ground. He let out a theatrical sigh before asking, "Must we resort to violence?" The sound of both vampires training their guns on him and preparing to fire, obviously shocked by his demeanor change as they gave him his answer. He once again let out a sigh before saying softly, "So it goes..."

The agent's face hardened instantly after those words. With a quick flick of his wrist, a modified pistol slid down from where it had been hidden in his coat sleeve and into his right hand. Before either freak could react he raised the gun and the weaponed barked twice, its discharge echoing in the stormy weather that was becoming far more intense as the night went on. He lowered his gun before slipping it back into his sleeve as he watched the two freaks crumble into dust, their ashes being picked up by the rain infested wind. He replaced his weapon before turning his head towards the town in the distance. He frowned slightly as he tightened the hood over his head and began walking towards the town. _I know my mission is to just find Victoria, but its odd to find freaks acting as sentries to such an out of the way location..._ He had been merely planning to find some place to stay for the night then move on with his search, but the presence of freaks acting like that changed things. _An interesting development to say the least. Perhaps I'll take a look after all._

Perhaps an hour or less later, he found himself entering through the town gates. The town seemed empty at first, but he accounted this factor for the heavy rain that began falling some time ago. The further into the town he went, he saw more and more signs of inhabitation, an open window being closed here, a speck of candlelight there. Though, something did bother him about the small town, he couldn't put his finger on it, thus he decided to ignore it for now and seek accommodations.

He eventually came across a building that had a hanging sign that read 'Wylam Inn'. He could hear the sounds of laughter and merriment within and couldn't help but smirk. _Perhaps I can sleep inside tonight after all..._ He walked towards the door and pushed it open gently with one hand. The door swung open easily, a small bell tinkering as Griphten entered. He was surprised to see a full crowd in the establishment. Most were talking in soft voices but as he walked over to the counter, Griphten could feel the many pairs of eyes that were locked on him.

Ignoring the looks of suspicion being tossed in his direction, Griphten walked up to the counter. A wizened old man sat there, giving the strange an odd look before asking, "What'll it be stranger?"

Griphten lowered his jacket's hood before shaking the water free and asking, "Would have to have a room available?" The simple request seemed to stun the room, an awkward silence filling the air.

The old man merely stared back in disbelief. Griphten began to think he may have done something stupid to offend the old man before said old man smiled. "You're the first to come looking for a room in quite some time young'un. Yeah, I can spare a room."

Griphten let out a sigh of relief. _At least I won't be sleeping in the rain tonight._ "How much for a room old timer?"

The old man laughed before saying, "I haven't made money off those rooms for about a decade, why should I start now?" He shook his head a few times before tossing it to Griphten, "The fact that you're even here says that you took some of those annoying freaks anyway. No charge."

A voice called out from the bar, "You're still too nice for your own good you old coot! Hey young'un, at least buy the old timer a drink!" Laughter followed after the comment, the occupants of the establishment apparently fine with his presence there.

Griphten couldn't help but join in. "I'd be glad to."

* * *

After their initial suspicions wore thin, Griphten was surprised to find the townspeople accept him whole-heartedly. It was odd, that they would accept an outsider so quickly after being so suspicions. He thought back to the old man's words and thought that it was perhaps because of the fact they knew he had killed some freaks for them. Just sitting there buying the occasional drink, he learned a great deal about the town he was currently in, as well as the day to day lives of the people who lived there.

The town had reverted from the city suburb that it had once been to something similar to a rural farming community after the opening of the rifts. They had survived the post-rift 'purges', as the hunting parties of freaks came to be called later on, to rebuild what they could of their home. He thought it was strange that they had been able to rebuild to such an extent, considering the state of most of the larger cities in England. They merely laughed and told him that luck and determination helps out plenty.

"It helps that the sad lady can beat the bad guys up too!" A childish voice said next to Griphten as his questioned was answered. He looked down to his right to see a little kid, a girl with green eyes and blond hair smiling up at him. He gave a small smile in return.

The man Griphten had been speaking to merely chuckled at the girl's presence before saying, "Your grandpa is in the back Angel."

She smiled and nodded her head before scampering off. Griphten only smirked before musing aloud. "Cute kid."

"That she is."

He hesitated for a moment before his interest got the best of him. "What did she mean, 'the sad lady?'"

The man to Griphten's left answered, "Some drifter woman who passed through these parts about the time the rifts opened. Somehow she single-handedly gave a walloping to a few vampire goons who were trying to run this area. It was amazing, I've never seen anything like it before."

Another man piped up, drink obviously having affected his voice. "Man... I remember that! Pretty little woman beat them around like 'dey was puppies."

The first man nodded. "Since then, she's helped us out when it came to dealing with the vampires who run this area. She keeps mostly to herself, towards the outskirts of the village but pops up from time to time. She tends to spend most of her time near the little shack by the cemetery near the outskirts. The kids here love her; hell they practically treat her like some sort of super-hero even though she doesn't talk much and always looks like something is troubling her."

"Whaddya' expect? With a wound like the one she has its probably a miracle that she ever reached this place at all. Poor girl, probably had to watch her family die or 'sumthing." Came the other's slurred voice. Griphten remained silent as the three began debating about this 'mysterious' woman. _A woman who could slap around vampires like they were children? She could be one of ours, perhaps even Victoria._ He let out a small chuckle at that thought before taking a sip of his drink. _No way. My life is never that simple._

_

* * *

_

We've received a strange report sir."

"Oh, and what does it say?"

"Apparently Finks and Luke never reported in. The search party found their weapons but there was no other sign of them."

"You think someone took them out?"

"Its highly possible sir. Our sources inside said that a stranger entered the town earlier tonight. That's the first time that has happened since we set up the blockade. It's probable that the stranger killed them to gain entry into our area."

"Well, looks like I'm going to have to arrange a little trip. Gather the men, we're taking that place down once we have enough bullets."

"Is that wise, with their 'guardian-angel'? She is quite strong sir, everyone who has tried to kill her has been killed."

"Enough. She has been a problem from the start that we should've taken care of. This is as good as a time as any to finish this nonsense. I don't care if she is like us, she's against us."

"As you wish sir."

* * *

Griphten awoke the next morning with more energy than he had felt in years. With good reason, for he had forgotten what it was life to sleep in a clean bed. He didn't wait around long, only long enough to dress and check his weapons, before heading out to explore the town.

It was small, seemingly a shadow of its former glory. But even in the overcast late morning air, the town was... alive. It brought a smile to the vampire hunter's face, _one day all of England will be like this again._ He broke out of his musings when he saw a few children running past him, laughing in the late morning as if they were playing a game. He noticed that the little girl from the inn the previous night seemed to be at the head of the pack, a radiant smile on her face as she ran with her friends. Without really thinking about it, Griphten began following them, musing internally if he should ask the children about their 'sad lady.'

He was surprised that they led him deep into the outskirts of the town towards the graveyard anyway. He turned around one corner and froze in place at the sight he saw. The children were carelessly running through the cemetery towards a single figure. She was standing with her back to her approachers, as if not caring about their presence in the slightest. As they came closer, she slowly turned to face the incoming children and allowed a small smile to cover her face.

He couldn't hear what was being said but he was far too shocked to really comprehend it anyway. Standing at the edge of the cemetery, he watched his one-time savior bend of slightly to affectionately rub the lead girl's head. _One arm?_ The rumors had been true, her left are was no where to be seen. She no longer wore the uniform that she had worn when leading forces to attack freak strongholds. Now it seemed she wore simple clothing, a pair of torn and faded denim jeans and what must have been a male button down shirt. She still wore her purple sunglasses, obscuring her eyes from the children who would probably have run away in fear if they ever saw them. The left arm of the shirt hung down, lacking the flesh that it would have covered. Her hair was no longer the familiar russet brown color that it had been when he first met her, but seemed to have faded into a sandy color; not blond yet not brown either.

She suddenly looked at him, as if sensing him watching her. She stood up slowly, locking her gaze with the agent's, as if examining him. He finally snapped out of his daze and gave a half-hearted wave. He couldn't see past the lenses of her sunglasses but he somehow got the impression that she was rolling her eyes at him. He lowered his hand before taking a deep breath and then walking towards her. The children shot the two questioning glances but remained silent, as if sensing that no questions would be answered. Griphten finally reached her and then gave a small smile before snapping to attention, giving her a salute. "It's damn good to see you again Victoria."

She only stared back at him in silence, as if wondering why he was there. Finally she turned to the children and bend down. "Guys, can you give us a few minutes?" She asked, her voice surprising soft and gentle. It was shocking to Griphten, he had never heard her speak like that before.

The little girl with the green eyes pouted at the woman until Seras rubbed her head again playfully. The girl gave a small smile and ran off, her little friends going with her. Seras lost her smile before turning back to Griphten. She gave him a look over before turning back to whatever she had been looking at before the children had come. "You look well Lieutenant."

He only shrugged before taking his place behind her to her right. "So do you, all things considered."

She actually chuckled at that before responding. "Bullshit. I look like hell." She then shook her head, as if dispelling some thought. "Ten years without decent blood will do that to a vampire."

He looked at her in disbelief. "You haven't fed in that long." He was stunned silent by her declaration before suddenly blurting out, "Are pure bloods that powerful?"

She scoffed. "Of course not." She paused slightly before clearing up his confusion. "I've been living off the blood of small animals and the occasional freak. Once in a while I sneak into the nearby blood farm and make off with several bags of that wretched plasma."

He nodded in understanding before asking, "Miss Victoria, why are you here?"

"Seras."

"I beg your pardon?"

"My name is Seras."

He only paused for a few moments as if studying her before casually stating, "You still haven't answered my question."

She shot him a glare that froze his blood over before looking away, gesturing with her arm. "Take a look." She ordered curtly, as if becoming annoyed by his mere existence. He did as ordered, somehow feeling that he shouldn't irritate her further. He took a few steps forward until they was standing side-by-side. He then took a look down towards the direction she indicated. A pair of tombstones stared back at him, causing him to raise an eyebrow before glancing at the vampire. He looked back to see what exactly was so interesting about them.

_Here lies Seras Marie Victoria. A woman who died in service for the innocent. Living a troubled life, may she now find rest. 1976 – 2000._

He blinked a few times before looking at the other tombstone.

_Here lies James Henry Victoria. A man who died in protection of his family. The lord knows no greater love than his. 1953 – 1982._

"Your husband?" Griphten questioned, now realizing that he was staring at what might have been the Victoria family gravestones.

He received another cutting glare; he couldn't see it but he could feel it. She then said, "My father."

There was a bit of silence before Griphten asked, "Should I be offering my condolences?"

"Don't bother. He died in London before your parents were probably even born." There was no irritation or boredom in her voice; just statement of a fact.

"So you've been busy visiting your grave for ten years? Sounds narcissistic to me."

"Shut up rookie." She growled out. Her eyes flickered once to the side before turning back to him. "Come on, we have an audience. Let's head someplace where you can tell me what the hell you want." Griphten followed after her, only noticing the curious expressions of the children as they passed them.

The two found themselves sitting in Victoria's 'home', a small shack that at some point must have been for the gravekeeper. She was lying on her back on a pile of old clothing, a makeshift bed. Her single arm was draped across her forehead, as if exhausted. "So, why are you here?"

He shrugged. "I'm here, specifically because I wanted to get out of the rain last night. On a more broad term, I had orders to locate you."

She moved her arm slightly, revealing her red eyes staring back at him curiously. "For me? Why?"

He gave a cross look before saying with a hint of irritation. "Come on Seras. You can't be that naïve. You know why."

She frowned in response before letting out a sigh. "No thanks. You can go back and tell your little resistance movement that I'm dead and gone." She let out a cynical smile before saying, "The trump card that you so desperately want is gone."

He frowned. He had not expected to find her, let alone find out she no longer wished to fight. He instead changed routes, "So, you're running away from your duties? Even after they took your arm?"

The air in the room dropped icy cold and Griphten swore he could feel his lungs shrinking in his chest. A pair of ruby eyes glared at him as Seras slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. "I run from nothing boy, don't ever forget that. The fact of the matter is this: I no longer have an reason to serve the Hellsing institution, or what remains of it. My master is dead, thus I no longer need to serve the group that enslaved him."

Griphten somehow was able to escape the cold grasp of fear around his heart and countered. "The institution may have enslaved him to their bidding, but it was the Bloody Countess who killed him."

In less than a second, he was choking and being help up in the air by Seras. Her eyes gleamed with pure rage as her entire body trembled. "How dare you... How dare you even attempt to use his memory against me! He was like a second father to me! I've fought and bled for his wishes, for more than a century. You, a mere human, a child compared to us, cannot even fathom what our existence is life! You never even met him boy!" She then threw him at the ground. Griphten's hand shot to his neck, desperately trying to regain feeling there as he gasped for air. He remained like that for quite sometime before he felt a hand on his neck. "Don't move." As soon as she said that, he felt a rush of some sort of energy rush into his body. The pain in his neck faded as his breathing stabilized.

"Thanks." He said quietly, not really sure what to do now. _Odds are she isn't coming back with me. The little Princess never said to make sure to bring her back, in fact she said not to bother to try and force her._

"Sorry... it just slipped..." Seras said, her voice almost cracking over her words. Griphten looked up at her with shock. The woman appeared on the verge of tears. She must have noticed his expression because she took a few steps away before sitting in a nearby chair. "It's just... I practically **felt** him die as I watched his body collapse into dust. I've just been... so lost without his guidance..." Her hand came to cover her forehead and she just added softly, "I'm just so sick of it all."

"It's okay. We all lost something that night..." Griphten said, trailing off into his own memories. _Alarms, sirens, warnings about the facility about some sort of calamity taking place in London. Less than a week later, the facility itself coming under attack and becoming a battlefield._ He shook his head and waited for Seras to recompose herself. "How come you're still lacking your arm? I've heard you've recovered from worse before."

She removed the hand from her forehead before looking at the remains of her left shoulder. "I don't know. My regenerative abilities didn't seem to work. I lost an enormous amount of blood before I found something I could use to cauterize the wound. I don't know why my arm hasn't reformed even once in the last decade but if I had to guess, it was probably due to Lysandra's weapon. It's probably the same ability that allowed that blade to kill Alucard."

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Seras stood and walked over and opened it without any sort of hesitation. Standing outside was the little girl from earlier and her grandfather. The two of them were smiling as they held out a pot of some sort of soup. "Angel tells me here that you know our visitor. We thought we would bring you some extra food, you barely eat at all Miss." The old man said as Seras accepted the rather large pot.

Seras smiled back slightly. "That's very kind of you but I can't accept."

"Nonsense my dear. Angel says that you barely eat at all, we can't have that! We all owe you far too much for you to drop from hunger."

Seras chuckled slightly before allowing her smile to become genuine. "Thank you sir. I appreciate the gesture."

He shook his head. "It's the least we could do for everything you've done for us. I must admit child, I worry about you. Are you sure that you won't move into the inn, we have spare rooms and the atmosphere in this place can't be healthy." His face showed his concern, as if Seras was a member of the family.

She only countered, "I thank you but I like living in this place. I enjoy the... peace and quiet."

He nodded. "Can't blame me for trying. We'll leave you and your friend alone. Good night Miss." And with that the two left, leaving the vampire and the vampire hunter alone. Seras turned to Griphten and asked, "Hungry?"

Without waiting for an answer, she walked over and left it on the table that he had settled into while she was talking with the villagers. The smell of the soup hit him full force and without waiting for any words from Seras, he opened the top and began to eat, using the provided spoon. He tore into it like it was a downed animal, earning an uninterested look from Seras. _Looks like he hasn't had a good meal in a long time. Well that makes two of us._

They didn't speak while Griphten was eating, neither knowing what to talk about. Griphten obviously because he wasn't sure if he could talk more without bringing up bad memories. Seras because she didn't really want to tell him to leave since he was one of the few who still knew who she was and what she was. Finally he put down his spoon for a moment and asked, "Do you know anything about the pair of freaks that attacked me on my way here?"

She shrugged, "A pair of Cisco's brats probably. Cocky little upstart thinks he can break this town down by not letting anyone in."

"Who's Cisco?"

She sighed. "One of Lorenz's dogs. He's more or less in charge of this area, runs a few local blood farms and keeps the cattle in line, so to speak." She then let out a little smirk. "I wonder who he fears more, Lorenz or myself."

"You've met him?"

"In a way. When I first showed up here, I tore apart several of his men for their blood. I was still running off my bloodlust and fed off theirs in order to regain my sanity. I must have passed out afterwards and when I woke, the people here were talking care of me." She sighed before leaning back in her chair and staring at the ceiling. "The balance with Cisco's goons is delicate. Since he won't take direct action because of me, he resorts to indirect measures to try and make life here uncomfortable for the people."

Griphten raised an eyebrow before reaching for his spoon again. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I act as a buffer between the town and the vampires. I don't let them cause damage or hurt anyone here, but in return they come once a month and everyone gives blood for the local blood farm."

"So you're working with them." Griphten asked. There was an odd tone of betrayal in his voice, as if he couldn't believe what she was telling him.

She glared at him and said in a cold voice, "If I hadn't worked this out the town would've been razed to the ground years ago. I don't like it but it keeps the town safe."

"Why not just wipe them out then?"

"Are you an idiot? If one of Lorenz's higher ranking goons goes missing, he's going to just send someone else. If it happens a lot then eventually he and Lysandra are going to wonder just who exactly is killing all of their subordinates. I could last in that fight but this town couldn't." The two went silent at that piece of information, once again the awkwardness of the situation.

"Why doesn't he just tell someone that there's a vampire here killing his men?" Griphten asked, confused. _Perhaps they don't know she's a vampire._

She laughed before answering, "At first it was a pride thing. But now he can't contact Lorenz, because Lorenz would slaughter him for letting this go on as long as it has, especially for not handing my head on a platter to him."

Griphten finished eating and placed the spoon in the pot, and once again the strange silence entered the room. Finally Seras spoke, "Stay at the inn again tonight but leave tomorrow. Your presence will cause problems if you remain any longer than that."

Griphten stood, understanding that his being there was starting to become unwelcome. "There is nothing I can say to convince you otherwise?"

"No."

"You can't hide here forever you realize."

She shook her head. "I am done fighting wars against the undead Lieutenant. This town may stand on a teetering edge but it grants me some sort of inner peace. I do not wish to leave it. With Alucard gone, I turn to my original father for guidance."

He nodded before saying, "I understand. I'll leave tomorrow and report to Lady Hellsing of your decision." He then turned and left the cemetery's shack, heading back towards the town.

Seras only watched him leave, her thoughts floating a mile a minute. Eventually one stood out, _How much time remains until I must bid this place goodbye?_

* * *

Griphten watched the starlit sky as he walked away from Victoria's abode, his thoughts wandering on his situation. _So much for that idea. Well, at least I did find her. Wildcard and the others will be happy to know she's actually alive, not just rumored to be so. The little Princess probably won't be happy but I doubt she'll say anything about it._

He was broken out of his thoughts as he saw the light in the distance. It wasn't normal; not the light that had spilled out of the buildings the previous night when he came to town. It was more of an orange-red color and it seemed to flicker in the distance. _Oh no... _Griphten never even finished the thought before he began running full speed towards the center of the town.

The town was burning wildly, the flames leaping high into the air before jumping from building to building. Griphten rushed past the fleeing villagers, trying to get to the source of the flames, ignoring their screams of fear. He rushed past the center of town, heading towards the entrance he had found the previous night. He skid to a stop when he saw what was waiting for him.

Beyond all the villagers huddling in fear and running past him if they had the courage, was a band of what seemed like twenty men dressed in casual clothing. Most held guns in their hands but a few of them held something that looked like torches. The lead two had a pair of flamethrowers, the tanks hanging from their backs, spraying the flammable fuel towards the houses in their intent to burn down the village. He watched in disbelief as the old man who ran the inn, who was holding his granddaughter tightly yelled, "Cisco, what the hell are you doing? This wasn't in the deal!"

The band of vampires began laughing wildly as one stepped forward. He was wearing a dark green bandanna around his forehead and what looked like a sportcoat and tie. He flicked a cigarette away before speaking. "I'm changing the deal old man. I've let this game run long enough, but you broke a cardinal rule." He then brought out another cigarette and lit it using one of the burning buildings before taking a drag and saying, "You housed someone who killed a pair of my men in this village. This is the punishment for assisting a fugitive."

The old man scowled but said nothing as he began backing away with the little girl. She broke out of her grandfather's arms and yelled out. "You monster! Wait until she comes! She'll kick your butts for doing this!"

The vampire merely laughed before reaching into his coat and pulling out a pistol. He didn't raise it but glared at the little human with a hint of amusement. "Is that right precious? Perhaps I should kill you before she shows up then." He then began to slowly raise his gun to point it at the terrified girl.

Griphten didn't wait that long. With a flick of his wrists, a pair of pistols slid out from his coat sleeves and he grabbed them tightly before raising them to fire twice. The tanks that the freaks with the flamethrowers were wearing on their backs. The bullets struck true and the tanks exploded, blowing the two lead freaks to kingdom come as the others were throw back from the blast. Even the vampire in front, who must have been Cisco, jumped back to avoid the sudden attack. After the initial shots Griphten yelled to the two humans. "Run. Run now you fools!"

Cisco merely scoffed before running towards the two humans and snatched the girl out of the air. He quickly held his gun at her neck, causing the old man to cry out in fear and Griphten to curse under his breath. Cisco merely sneered as he greeted Griphten. "Ah, so you must be our guest. Welcome to Wylam, thirty-second blood district under Lord Kilten." He did a mock bow as if welcoming Griphten who stood there with his guns raised ready to fire. _Damn coward... My aim isn't as good as Crackshot's... Shit._ "I am the district ruler here, Cisco Hemlock. Who might you be?"

"Thomas Griphten, part of Hellsing's trash removal division. "

Cisco scoffed, "I would like to ask you a few questions about a pair of my men who went missing."

Griphten spoke immediately. "You must mean those two idiots who attacked me for no reason. Yeah, they're dead. You might be able to find their ashes if you start looking."

Cisco merely shook his head, unimpressed by the human's bravado. "I suppose I should say that such a thing is impressive, for a human."

"Put the girl down and I'll let you live." Griphten said calmly, his eyes flickering back to see the other freaks starting to recover from the blasts.

Cisco merely laughed out loud before tightening his grip on Angel's neck. "You're only a human, skilled or not. You honestly think you can kill me and my men here and save the girl? I think you need to rethink your strategy fool."

A female voice, cold and distinct cut into the opening. Even the sounds of the flames seemed to go soft as she spoke. "He probably can't, but I can." Griphten felt the tenseness ease from his body slightly as he recognized that voice. It was the sound of Seras Victoria ready to tear someone a new asshole. He kept his guns raised but didn't say anything as Seras stepped past him. She was still dressed in the clothing she was wearing before, including her purple sunglasses. "I assume you're the dog that Lorenz sent to this area, Cisco is it?"

Cisco's eyebrow twitched at the insult to his master but said nothing until he saw a few of his men take steps back in fear, as if recognizing who it was. It dawned on him as he sized her up and smiled as realization hit him. "Ah, so you must be the mysterious woman who seems to have no trouble killing my men. The one who started this idiotic little game in this town." He once again bowed mockingly before saying, "It's an honor to finally meet you. I have to say though, from the reports I heard of your power, I find it hard to believe that you're a gimp."

Griphten immediately took a step back, almost feeling the pure rage that must have been in Victoria's eyes. Seras ignored the jab but spoke again, "You are breaking the agreement, to a level I never would have expected... Are you that eager to die trash?"

He shook his head before saying, "The people of this town harbored several criminals, including yourself. This has been coming for a long time. Don't tell me you're surprised about this."

"Bastard, release my grandchild!" The old man yelled at the vampire. The girl struggled wildly to break free from the strong hold but Cisco remained standing firm.

Cisco scoffed. "I don't take kindly to insults old fool." Without any more hesitation, the vampire pointed his gun at the old man and fired. The man took the bullet directly in the chest, his body flying backwards as the child screamed out in horror.

Griphten felt the chill race through his body as he could feel the dark power emanating off of Seras. _Damn, that's even stronger than I remember it. She's pissed alright._ "Lieutenant, leave them to me. Take the girl to a safe location until I come and find you."

He knew instantly not to argue and holstered one gun back in his coat sleeve. "Yes ma'am." With a nod, Victoria suddenly vanished. Less than a second later the girl was falling to the ground, the arm that had been wrapped around her turning into dust as Seras tore Cisco's arm from his body. Griphten wasted no time in rushing the girl and picking her up at full run, leaving Seras to clean house with a bellowing Cisco.

Cisco stumbled back, grabbing the stump where his arm used to be before growling out. "You bitch... You're not human."

She only looked back at him as the arm began to reform before an eyebrow raised above her sunglasses. "Ah, so you're a subservient pureblood. Perfect, I'll leave you for last." And before anymore words were said, she once again vanished. Cisco tried to track her in vain as she tore through the ranks of his gathered men. The panic overtook them as they began firing wildly, hoping to somehow hit the woman who seemed to move like a phantom.

It wasn't long before the remains of their forces were gone, leaving only Cisco Hemlock standing in the burning entrance to the town of Wylam. Seras stood there, glaring at him from behind her sunglasses before reaching up and removing them from her eyes. She tucked them into her collar before opening her eyes, revealing the glorious blood red of her irises. "Are you prepared? I haven't had a good source of blood for a long time. Yours will do."

He stumbled back in shock as he stared into those eyes. _Those eyes, she's..._ "You're one of us? Why are you fighting us then?" He cried out in shock, raising the pistol and firing several times.

The gun flew away as his hand was once again cut away, leaving him grabbing the end of his arm. Seras stood there, arm thrust out into its striking position. She only stood up before slowly looking at him, "We are similar, I will give you that since you are a pureblood. However, Lorenz and his master are fools who will destroy this world if things remain the same."

Cisco merely scoffed. "Humans are merely cattle to us. Why do you protect such vermin?"

She raised an eyebrow before replying. "Vermin? You, one of the many who helped turn England into this living hell have the balls to call humans vermin?" She let out a loud laugh before punching him in the face, sending him flying. "I should kill you for being so god damn arrogant as a fledgling."

"Damn bitch. Fine, kill me. My master will sense my final thoughts and come for you." Cisco said as he slowly rose to his feet. He then pulled out a switchblade before adding, "Fuck that. I'll kill you and bring back your ashes to my lord myself."

Seras only laughed hysterically at that before pointing to one of her eyes and saying, "I was the one who took your master's eye. From what I've heard, its never grown back, has it?"

The vampire dropped the knife in shock. _She's... she's..._ "You're... Seras Victoria... of Hellsing?"

She only grinned savagely before vanishing and appearing behind him to sink her fangs into his neck. "Now and forever trash. Tell your master that I will come for him now that he's gone and fucked over my retirement." And with those words, she drained Cisco Hemlock dry, his body collapsing into dust once she finished.

Seras replaced her sunglasses before walking over to the old man. She bent down to see his chest rising in heavy gasps, gasps that were getting smaller and smaller. His eyes were glazed over as his head turned to look at her. The sunglasses were at the edge of her nose, revealing her eyes to him. He didn't seem too shocked, nor did his face show any sign of hatred. "I kinda figured you weren't human." He said incredibly softly.

She only nodded before saying. "I did not wish to deceive you or the others. I just wanted to be left alone."

He nodded weakly before reaching up towards her face. She grabbed his hand with hers and held it softly, anticipating his end. "Take care... of my ... Angel."

With that his chest stopped moving and his hand fell limp in hers. She lowered his hand to his chest and crossed the other on top. She tenderly closed his eyes before planting a small kiss on his forehead. "As you wish old man. I will treat her like my own." She then stood up and looked at the burning buildings. _It looks like this is the end..._

* * *

Griphten was able to find where the rest of the townspeople fled to outside the village with the girl. He placed her gently on the ground with some of them before turning and withdrawing his weapons again, waiting for someone to pursue them. He could hear the people weeping and wondering what was going to happen to them but he zoned it out, there were far more important things to worry about.

It wasn't long before a single figure began approaching them from the distance. Griphten recognized the shape and holstered his weapons as he watched Victoria come closer. She reached them soon enough and many of the townspeople huddled around, looking to her for some sort of guidance. Griphten couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for her.

She spoke, her voice even. "Today is a day that you will never forget. The town of Wylam is gone. Your fields can't be saved. You must flee before more of them come."

One voice rose and yelled out, "Flee? Run where? Those damn vampires are everywhere!" There were several voices of agreement.

Seras didn't even bat an eyebrow. "Cisco Hemlock is dead if its any consolation, but you can't remain here. I am not staying, so you will have to protect yourselves for a change."

"But!" One voice shouted out but Angel run to Seras and yelled out before anyone could continue.

"Where's grandpa?" She yelled out frantically, grabbing Seras' leg and shaking it.

Seras dropped to one knee before embracing the little girl with her arm. "I'm sorry Angel. He's... he's gone..." She held the girl against her chest as the girl began weeping heavily into her chest.

Griphten spoke to distract the rest of the populace from the scene. "She is correct. This was bound to happen sooner or later, the way things had worked themselves out. You must find a new place to live." There were murmurs of men and women as they began muttering back and forth about what he said. He didn't care to listen but turned to Seras. "Seras, will you return?"

She nodded. "On two conditions."

"Being?"

"One, Angel comes with. I know it's foolish but it was the old man's last wish that I take care of her."

Griphten nodded. _It shouldn't be a problem, there are other children at the base as well._ "And the other?"

She looked him dead in the eye through her sunglasses. "Once this is all over, and Lorenz and Lysandra are gone... Find someone capable of killing me. I can't handle this anymore and my own god damn instincts prevent suicide." Her voice was harsh, cutting even as Griphten studied her. The little girl in her arm was still crying, oblivious to what was being said around her.

Griphten only looked at her with slight concern before closing his eyes. "As you wish..."

"Thank you..." She said, her voice expressing true thanks. She turned her head towards the South; towards London. Her face settled into a stony expression, one thought on her mind.

_This shall end. All the pain, all the suffering, all of it. It will end, I swear on my father's grave._


	30. Chapter 29

Another chapter. Warning, not too much goes on here. It's sort of something that just kinda popped out of my head and I went with it. I don't tend to usually do that, since I usually know what I want to accomplish in an installment. Oh well, live and learn. I'll just address some concerns first.

**PlAySw/Fire : **Umm, I've said it before. I won't be updating Dark Futures until I finish this. If I was to split working again, neither would get any quality time and both stories would suffer. Seeing how I actually like this story more than Dark Futures (which was something that was supposed to be a one shot), I will continue to work on this. Now before you get upset, there really aren't that many more chapters to this story, but I'll probably bust out a few one shots that I've been meaning to finish before starting DF up again.

**Her arm**: Okay, don't bring it up anymore. Her arm is not going to suddenly regenerate, so don't bother asking anymore. The effects of Mythril were explained in Lysandra's fight against Alucard, the last chapter, and even more in this chapter. I've also clarified the classifications of vampires as I see them within 'my' Hellsing universe. I say 'my' because I've been combined anime and manga to create this story, and no two vampire cannon is the same (i.e. if they were all correct then vampires would be the weakest supernatural beings instead of one of the strongest.)  
Her arm being taken is, in a way, my way of dealing Seras a major blow. In all vampire cannon I've ever read, there's no way a century year old vampire would be capable of taking down the 'pure bloods' I've set up as enemies, (with the exception of Kylie, since that was really just a gun fight.) Seras' freakish strength and abilities will be explained in future chapters, and no they will not involve her miraculously growing her arm back.

**'Find someone capable of killing me': **I think I've explained it enough in this chapter, but should anyone not understand, I will be more than happy to add an AN to the next chapter explaining what I'm trying to do.

This chapter's quote comes from Konsekai Swordwatlzer, an online comic by Xero Reynolds. He doesn't update too often but the work is top notch. I don't typically plug webcomics but I figured it was worth it since I stole a quote...

**

* * *

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**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Reconciliation **

"Look to the past, peer to the future, and you fail the challenge of the present."

Xavier Flynn couldn't keep the smirk off his face as he watched the leader of the Hellsing institution deliver her news to her fellow resistance leaders. The look on Perigrin's face alone was worth it, that eerily twitching eyebrow, the look of concealed rage and hatred. _Ah yes, I do so love watching that. If that eyebrow twitches anymore it'll catch fire from the friction._ The two leaders were silent for quite some time, still digesting the information in their own ways.

Coyote's face was blank, revealing nothing. It could be because of the fact that he had never met or fought against Victoria in the past. It was probably like Father Bob from the States had a heart attack last night; a strange sense 'Oh... That's... bad?' He was twirling a cigarette in his fingers, already thinking of how the news could be used for the resistance's advantage. Flynn didn't like him but he admired the way the man could focus when the situation called for it.

He turned his head to look at the fallen priest and couldn't help but smile like an idiot when he saw the man's face twisting between rage and displeasure, if such a thing happened. _He had been so sure that one of his enemies was dead, must suck to find out that she's still capable of kicking his ass._ Perigrin looked up at Flynn, sensing he was being stared at, and saw the man's smile. He glared at the agent before closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

Coyote spoke first, breaking the silence. "So where is our... vampire?"

Alice spoke, her voice giving nothing away. It was oddly familiar to Flynn for some reason. "She's keeping her distance for now. Agent Griphten reported that she has been... malnourished for many years. It would be unwise to allow her near a Hellsing maiden until she has been given some blood. Several of my agents have volunteered to do so already. In fact, they should have already finished with the extractions."

Perigrin just sneered. "Can't control your own weapon girl?"

She only slowly turned her head before saying, "Something to say Father Perigrin?"

He only scoffed at her challenge before the room returning to silence. In reality, Perigrin knew that the resistance had just won a major victory by having a pure blood fight for them. He had been there when Lysandra had opened the rift, he saw exactly how strong she was. He had no doubts, that even with all the holy protection the lord had blessed him with, he would be smashed like a gnat if he fought the elder vampire. _Then again, that blood sucker couldn't handle her either. Perhaps this isn't as helpful as we thought._ "Is the rumor that she's lacking her arm true?"

She nodded before holding up one finger. "Indeed. But there is something that must be reviewed." She waited for a moment before continuing, in a manner very similar to how Xavier was thinking. "The Hellsing institution, in the past, has dealt with four major types of vampires. The first is the artificial vampires known as 'freaks'. These aren't created through vampires directly, but rather a combination of dark energies and biological-engineering. They have only a few of the strengths of the vampire, such as improved strength and speed, and all of their weaknesses. In addition, they do not create additional vampires, nor will the ghouls that a freak creates vanish if it is killed. This is a phenomenon we still have yet to understand.

"The second type is a human/pure blood half breed." She paused for a moment to cast a look towards Christopher, as if wanting to confirm something. He gave a slow nod before she continued, "In all honesty, we have very seldom dealt with these. They are incredibly hard to track and don't have any known vampiric weaknesses. They don't need blood to survive, and can walk during the day. In reality, they should be considered... 'superior humans' I suppose. They lack the ability to use dark energies like their pure blood counterparts, and are unable to regenerate as their counterparts do."

"Third, we have the subservient pure blood, the second strongest class of vampires. Though it may depend on who is being compared when talking about strength considering some half-breeds have even surpassed this class in the past. This is the case of Lorenz Kilten, Lysandra's main Lieutenant. They have the power of darkness as their ally and that is not limited to magic use, regeneration capabilities, strength and/or speed. Typically, they cannot walk during the day and are usually weaker that a free pure blood. They are bound to the one who turned them, and until released from that bound they act as... puppets, whether they like it or not.

"Finally, we have vampires like Seras Victoria and the Queen of Darkness, the 'free' pure bloods. The pinnacle of vampirism, unlimited strength, dark magics, etc. In the words of Agent Flynn... 'the whole 'shabang' '." Everyone in the room shot Wildcard a look that said different things depending on the user but the message was clear, more or less.

"Aw shut up."

Alice merely chuckled to herself slightly before continuing, "In the case of any pure bloods, free or subservient, their population only grows by turning a virgin. I suppose we are lucky that Lorenz and Lysandra like to keep their dogs on a short leash and haven't created too many extra pure bloods for us to deal with."

Coyote broke into her lecture, a look of annoyance on her face. "Yes, yes, yes. We know that already Lady Hellsing. We're asking you about her condition."

Christopher was the next to speak, the older man pushing his glasses up slightly before speaking. "It seems that her wound is due to a weapon of Lysandra's. It appears able to block the regenerative powers of a vampire, even more than silver or blessed weapons. In fact, if struck by this weapon a vampire would react virtually the same as a human in regards to being wounded." He looked through some his notes before idly commenting, "A shame we can't grab a sample of it. If it could cause such serious damage to a free pure blood like Victoria, weapons made from it would be a valuable asset."

There was a long silence before Perigrin asked, "And her injury has affected her power?"

"Not as much as one would think, according to Agent Griphten. Then again, Seras has always been more powerful than expected." Christopher answered truthfully.

"Do you plan to use her?"

Alice only looked at him strangely, as if she thought he was an idiot. "Gentlemen, she is the strongest among us. In all honesty, I'd let her drain me dry if I thought it would help destroy Lysandra." She paused for a moment before saying, "She is our trump card. We shall send her to destroy the ramparts, to break down the walls, then at the most opportune time, we shall strike from the side."

Coyote blinked, surprised at the ruthlessness in the young girl. "You intend to use her as a decoy?"

She shook her head. "Far from it. I have no doubt that she will tear anyone she goes against apart, with the exception of Lysandra and perhaps Lorenz."

Xavier merely chuckled before adding. "She took Lorenz once before. She's the reason why that eye of his is gone. He makes a damn good cyclops."

"Agreed." Alice nodded with a smirk on her face. "For now, we shall hold her in reserve while we decide our next move. Our supplies are small, and at the current rate we won't last another winter. We must end this nightmare before the snow begins to fall."

Coyote nodded in agreement. "When my agents return with the information they've been sent to gather, we'll have a better understanding of Lysandra's forces and their movements."

Alice nodded. "Then Gentlemen, I shall take my leave." She said as she stood up, pushing the chair back. She walked towards the room's exit before saying, "I have a weapon I need to greet." Flynn followed after her, anticipating an interesting meeting with his former comrade.

* * *

"You know, its rather disturbing to hear you speak about her as if she's nothing more than a tool." Xavier said lightly as the two walked through the corridors of tunnels within the sewer system. Very few lights were down this way and if not for the faintly burning oil lamp hanging from Flynn's hand they would not be able to see.

Alice looked up at him with a curious expression. "I don't really have any reason to think otherwise, do I?"

He frowned at that. It was true that the girl didn't remember ever meeting Seras. She had been only a little girl, not even through elementary school when her old man died and the rifts opened. She wasn't like Flynn and the other Hellsing agents who had fought alongside the pure blood in the past. Most of the Division S agents had dealt with the trump card of the institution on a personal level; hell they trained against her to receive their position! "She 'has' served your family for a few generations."

She only gave him an even look before saying, "My family is dead Agent Flynn." Her voice was cold and held an edge to it. It carried a warning that he should shut him mouth.

He sighed before rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah... Listen my family was killed by vamps too alright. Seras isn't like the rest of them; she's a good woman."

Alice stopped before glaring at her subordinate. Realizing that she no longer was with him, he slowed to a stop and looked over his shoulder. The look in her eyes reminded him far too much of her old man for a moment before the girl spoke. "She's a vampire Xavier. I don't care what's shes done in the past, but in the future she must be destroyed. I still don't understand how my ancestors could stomach the likes of her working for them."

Xavier merely looked at her as if disappointed but he couldn't blame the girl. _At least I didn't have to put my own parents down, I can't claim to have had it worse than her._ He merely turned ahead and started walking again, leading the young woman towards their destination. "I don't intend to treat her any differently from anyone else who works for me, but it doesn't mean I have to like her." Alice added, sensing the man's problem.

He nodded. "I suppose that's all I can ask little princess."

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

"You did. It fits you though." He instantly ducked his head to avoid a punch thrown by the irritated girl. He only chuckled as he led her further into the maze they were in.

It wasn't long before they arrived. Standing outside another of the large vault-like doors were two men that Alice Hellsing knew fairly well. The first was the reason she was able to hide from the forces of darkness. The silent oriental man had been the one to fashion the wards that the members of Division S wore, somewhat keeping them below the enemy's radar. The ward in her necklace had been enhanced due to the fact that the scent of a Hellsing's blood was apparently something that could be sensed from a good distance. Alice had no doubt that she would be dead if not for the cross shaped necklace she wore.

The second man was another agent of Division S that she had known for some time. He had lose his arrogance as the years passed, unable to engage the enemy on the terms he had always been comfortable with, that which consisted of a pair of crosshairs and a good deal of distance between them. The once flawless sniper of Division S, probably the sole agent who dealt more with eliminating men than monster, Jacob Williams.

Upon seeing Wildcard and their leader, Agents Jin and Williams pushed off the wall that they had been leaning against. "How is she?"

Williams responded evenly, his voice soft, as if unused. She finished feeding from the donated blood for about an hour or so."

"And the girl she brought with her?" Alice had to admit, she was surprised to hear about a child traveling back into the resistance's headquarters with the vampire.

Williams shrugged. "She's out with Radar-boy. Draculina didn't want the kid to see the blood feast, as she called it."

Alice frowned at that before merely saying, "I see."

He waited a moment before asking, "You wish to see her?"

Alice nodded. "Yes. It's about time I meet the infamous Seras Victoria." The three agents all exchanged glances before Alice felt irritation creep into her veins. "Open the door Agent Williams." She ordered, not too thrilled by the current overprotective nature of her soldiers.

Flynn merely sighed before giving Williams a nod. The ex-sniper hesitated only for a moment before turning and giving the door a few short knocks. "Victoria, you've got a visitor."

There was some sort of grumble before they could hear someone moving about. Finally a voice called out, muffled from the cast-iron vault door. "Its open."

Alice only scoffed at the casual sounding voice before looking to Flynn. "If you'd be so kind Wildcard." Flynn only grinned like an idiot, wondering what Victoria looked like now, before opening the large door with a few grunts. The door was finally opened and Alice entered without waiting for Flynn.

The room was similar in size to all the others that she had been in within the sewer system network. There weren't any lanterns, unlike the other rooms which had always had that low glow in order to let their inhabitants see what was going on. The darkness was discomforting as Alice stood in the doorway, her eyes scanned what she could see of the room. _Where is she?_ Xavier must have picked up on her hesitation, because he entered the room before her in a somewhat relaxed stance. His right hand was still poised to defend himself however but a large grin was on his face, similar to that of a child expecting a new toy. "Oi Seras, stop hiding and come out. I want to see if you're still as hot as you were a decade ago."

Alice let a frown cross her face at the man's nonchalant attitude before taking a few more steps into the dark room. Her heart froze however as she felt a chilling voice whisper in her ear. "It's nice to see you again Alice." The girl spun around, already withdrawing her gun to fire at the perceived threat but was shocked to find no one there. She took a step backwards towards Flynn but almost pulled the trigger as Xavier pulled the gun from her hand without any sort of warning.

"Enough of that little princess. Don't waste those silver bullets here." He then called into the darkness. "You too Victoria. Geez, and you used to tell me that I acted like a child..."

Alice felt the chill fade slightly as the voice she had heard earlier faded into a light-hearted laugh. She frowned as she watched the one armed woman literally walk out of the darkness before them. She had an odd look in her eyes as she looked over the leader of the Hellsing institution but Alice was unable to decipher what exactly was in that gaze. She didn't have long though, as the woman turned to greet the Division S agent who had become nothing short of her personal bodyguard. "You look well Xavier. I'd never thought I'd be glad to see you."

He only smirked before twirling a coin from his pocket. "Does this mean I'll get another date with you my dear?" He then leered at her with a lecherous grin on his face, "Perhaps we could go further than last time..."

Seras only frowned, a slight tick in her eyebrow at the man's insinuation. "Don't push your luck kid. You won a bet last time and I'll be twice damned if I let you pull that crap on me again."

He chuckled slightly before flipping the coin into the air. It spun wildly until it landed in the pocket he was holding open in his coat. He didn't even seem to have noticed that he had done it as he continued to speak to her, "Can't blame a guy for trying. You're as dangerously beautiful as ever Seras."

She scoffed at his flattery, already beginning to be annoyed by his attitude that apparently hadn't changed since she first met the man. "I look like shit Flynn." She ran her hand over the stub of her left shoulder and frowned, "Yeah... definitely look like shit."

"And your as difficult as always." Flynn said as he shook his head. Internally he did think that the woman still was as beautiful as ever, though he prefered the brown hair she had previously had prior to the rift's opening. It was nice to see her in normal clothing as well, as opposed to the outfit she had worn hunting. It was as if she was more human-like than he remembered.

"Shut up you idiot." He couldn't help but smirk at that. _She's still the same._

Alice only watched in silence as the two bickered like children for quite of bit of time after that. She found it odd, she knew that she should be taking control of this meeting but somehow couldn't force herself to break into the two's bickering. She could hear Williams snickering outside the door at the two as Jin passively watched, a small grin on his face. Finally Alice raised her hand to cough her mouth and coughed twice, breaking the bickering as both looked over. Flynn had a confused look on his face before it seemed to fade into slight irritation. The vampire merely had the same strange look that she had earlier when looking at her. "Sorry to break up your reunion Wildcard, but Miss Victoria and I need to have a little chat." He blinked a few times in confusion before he heard Seras chuckle.

"Leave moron. She wants to speak to me alone." The protest died in Xavier's throat as he saw the glare from the little princess. He eventually nodded his head before walking towards the entranceway. He tossed one last glance towards the two women before closing the door behind him. The room was once again cloaked in darkness, sending a slight chill up Alice's spine, but she quickly shrugged it off. She had far more potent fears than the dark; this was nothing. She didn't even flinch when Seras spoke again. "Would you like me to provide a light?"

Alice only answered. "If you would be so kind. I find it rude to speak to someone without being able to see them."

She only heard a light chuckle. "Your father was the same way, Lady Hellsing." There was a snap of fingers before a small floating orange flame appeared before Alice, dangerously close to her face. The girl didn't even flinch, though after a moment did take a step back. _She's calm, she would have stayed there if not for the heat from the flame. Interesting, she seems far more capable than William ever was._ Seras only allowed her eyes to travel the girl for a moment more before bowing her upper body slightly and crossing her arm across her chest. "Even if I couldn't smell it, I can see it plainly. You are definitely the heir of the Hellsing family."

Alice only stared back at her for a few moments in dead silence before she nodded. "It seems you know who I am. That makes things much quicker I suppose."

Seras scoffed. "Of course I know who you are. You look far too much like some of your ancestors that it would be unmistakable."

Alice finally blinked and let her harsh glare fade. Something akin to curiosity had taken root in her eyes and it baffled the elder vampire for a few moments before Seras asked in disbelief. "You don't remember me at all do you?"

"We've met?"

Seras only grabbed her head, wondering where the adorable six year old she had met a decade ago went. "Never mind, it isn't important."

Alice was silent for a few moments before the curious look in her eyes faded away, once again leaving that expressionless look on her face. "So you will work for us once again?"

Seras examined the girl for a few more moments. _She's definitely of Intergra's lineage._ "Yes. I will kill the bloody countess and her lieutenant for you, provided I am given the chance." She paused for a moment before adding, "But I will not become your front line soldier again."

Alice narrowed her eyes at the vampire's words. "What do you mean?"

Seras shrugged. "As light as I make of them, my wounds have yet to heal. I wish to conserve my strength and serve you from the shadows until the time comes."

There was an odd period of silence before Alice asked, her tone deadly serious. "Are you sure you can kill her?"

Seras once again shrugged. "There's a lot of x-factors in it. I would have killed her ten years ago if it not been for my carelessness due to my anger, but it is unlikely she would underestimate again after that battle. Odds are that was the reason why I did so well against her." She paused for a moment before adding, "In the words of Xavier, 'it would be a craps shoot.' "

Alice continued to stare at the vampire in silence before nodding. Then rest for now. We will send for you when we have need of you. The members of Division S and the remainder of the soldiers that truly remain loyal to the Hellsing institution shall be donating blood as regularly as can be safe however there won't be much time before we must strike."

Seras gave the girl a critical look before saying, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, Lady Hellsing." Seeing the girl's confused look Seras continued. "People have died in this war. People will continue to die. Not all of their deaths will be inside the glory of battle but that does not mean you should rush into that forsaken glory."

"In other words, 'Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder and crush him.' "

Seras only grinned at the girl's words. "It seems you have been prepared for such an event for quite some time."

Alice shrugged. "The Art of War aside, yes. We cannot hold out at our current size for another winter. Some of the men have already realized this and have come requesting suicide missions." Seras only walked towards the nearest wall and leaned back against it, closing her eyes. Alice couldn't help but look from the floating flame to the vampire a few times, as if wondering if she was really controlling it. Alice sighed before looking at Seras, "In all honesty, even if an opportunity were to arise for us to take her out, we are undermanned, out gunned and all around outclassed."

Without any sort of hesitation Seras spoke, her voice full of conviction. "You need to bring down the rift."

Alice looked at the elder with a look of utter confusion on her face. As if the two were having two different conversations. Raising an eyebrow, Alice asked. "What?"

Seras opened her eyes and they glowed with a crimson delight. A cold and calculating intelligence was revealed to the teenager and Alice couldn't help it as a shiver raised down her spine. "You need to send a team outside the rift, to contact the outside world. Have them arrange an invasion and wait for you to bring the rift down at the right time. Not only would it increase your support more than we can possibly imagine, the rift coming down will raise the moral of the troops here as well as most likely inspire the common man to rise to battle."

Alice scoffed at the plan. _If it were only that easy._ "We've had Agent Jin and a team of warding specialists, scientists, and engineers trying to figure a way to bring that rift down for the past six years. Although if it were possible, it would be our best bet at ending this nightmare."

Seras raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I could assist them. I am familiar with dark energies after all, and I know how to make some pretty potent sealing magics." She said, raising her hand in front of her face, revealing the white glove on her hand to the girl. The strange archaic markings glowed dark crimson for a moment before becoming black again."

Alice looked at her, as if unsure what to do before saying, "Then do it." There was a slight pause before Alice turned away, "I have other matters to attend to but there is one thing that has caught the curiosity of the agents. I have to admit I am also slightly curious."

Seras only looked slightly amused before pushing off the wall and taking a few steps closer to the floating flame. "And that would be?"

"You wish for death?" The statement was cold and directly. Alice had been told by those who served under her that her bluntness was useful when in the field but made her seem... as if she was detached from the world.

There was a long period of silence in which Alice only watched as the elder closed her eyes as if thinking about something. Five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes of cruel uncomfortable silence before Seras finally spoke up. "I once told a Iscariot who was hunting me that I knew eventually I would have to die, even if it came down to being the only one left." She opened her eyes before looking at Alice with what seemed like almost maternal affection, "You're probably too young to understand but I really don't have anything left to fight for other than that bitch's death." She then laughed coldly as she turned her back on the leader of the Hellsing institution. "I am a pure blood. I've tried to take my life many times in more ways than you can possibly fathom in the last ten years. Each time I came out remaining alive, my instincts preventing me from the peace I desired."

"And the girl?"

Seras halted at the question. In all honesty she didn't know what to do about the child she had taken from Wylam. It was the last wish of a dying man, so she felt she had to do as she asked but she knew that she couldn't take care of the girl. _Besides, once she finds out I'm the same as what killed her remaining family, she will be too terrified to let me try._ "I leave that to you. Find someone to watch her once I am gone. That shall be the price of my aid."

"I see..."

Seras then turned to look directly into the teenager's eyes. Alice felt as if Seras could see all the way too her soul as she locked gazes with those crimson gems. "Either way, the next battle will be my last." She mumbled out cryptically before turning away to walk into the shadows. The floating flame that had been in front of Alice slowly burned out into nothingness.

Alice slowly snapped out of her internal musings on the vampire before saying loudly, "Wildcard, open the door." As the door slowly opened and a thin crack of light entered the room, Alice turned and walked towards it. _She's far more interesting than I thought she'd be. Perhaps I should give her a chance after all._

* * *

Griphten found himself muttering under his breath as he slowly walked beside the little girl that Seras had taken in from Wylam. The girl seemed too young to really understand what this place was, and would take great personal pleasure in asking questions. Questions that Griphten really didn't want to give answers to, especially to an impressionable child. _Damn you thrice over Victoria. I'm not a baby sitter._

_Now that's not very nice. You should mind your thoughts around children Lieutenant. _He halted immediately, his head looking from side to side to locate the woman. He blinked a few times, thinking he had heard her voice before his eyes narrowed. "It's not nice to screw with peoples heads like that Seras."

The little girl, Griphten thought her name was Angel, looked around trying to find the woman. She then looked back at him with a look that said, _Mister, you're crazy._ The little girl almost jumped out of her shoes when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned around to see the guardian of Wylam standing there, bending over to pat her head with a smile. She was wearing those purple sunglasses of hers, causing the little girl to wonder once again how she saw with those on when it was dark out. Seras only chuckled at the girl's reaction before turning to face the agent again. "She didn't give you any trouble did she?"

He shrugged. "None that I'm aware of. You do know I'm not a baby sitter though."

She shrugged. "I wasn't about to leave her in Flynn's care."

"He did a decent job with the little princess didn't he?"

Seras scoffed. "He had nothing to do with that. That's just her genes coming through." She then turned to look at Angel and smiled. "Angel, you look tired. You should get some sleep."

The little girl shook her head and said no, causing both adults to chuckle slightly before Seras led the girl over to the closest wall. A few residents had taken up resting places there, as many in the base did. Many leaned against the wall in order to have a lighter sleep, in case a call to battle came. Seras found an unoccupied spot in the wall and sat down with the girl against it.

Griphten followed the two, having nothing better to do for the moment. He sat down next to Victoria as the girl settled into the woman's arms, already making herself comfortable, causing the agent to chuckle slightly. His eyes traveled to his right and he blinked in astonishment before reaching over and grabbing the case. "I'll be damned..."

Seras looked over and an eyebrow raised from behind her shades. "What?"

The agent opened the case hesitantly before letting out a sigh at what was in it. "This was Edward's guitar. Hell of a player, died on the last mission in Essex. Food raid..." The agent hesitated for a few moments before pulling the instrument out, almost reverently.

"You were close?"

He shrugged. "In a way. We used to talk about music from time to time. He taught me how to play a few songs." He pulled the strings a few times and smiled as the twang rang out. "In perfect tune. Damn that guy was good." He chuckled for a moment before closing his eyes. He withdrew a small coin from his pocket and began to play almost instantly. It was a soft and mellowing tune, from a better age. It seemed to cause the girl in Seras' arms to relax.

Seras closed her own eyes, feeling the events of the past few days and her recent feeding catch up to her. With a soft voice she spoke but it eventually became a soft song.

_There are no unlockable doors_

_There are no unwinable wars_

_There are no unrightable wrongs _

_Or unsingable songs._

She didn't even seem to notice the strange looks she was given from the guitarist as well as a few of the resistance members who had been trying to sleep.

_There are no unbeatable odds_

_There are no believable gods_

_There are no unnameable names_

_Shall I say it again, yeah._

_There are no impossible dreams  
There are no invisible seams  
Each night when the day is through,_

_I don't ask much  
_Seras still had her eyes closed but she could sense all the eyes that were on her. She even sensed those of the leader of the Hellsing institution. She could feel their confusion and their hesitation, as if they wanted to stay, watch, and listen but were afraid of how she would react should she finish. She paid none of them any mind, merely continued to sing in that same soft voice as she fell further and further into the dark abyss that was sleep. 

_There are no uncriminal crimes  
There are no unrhymable rhymes  
There are no identical twins or  
Forgivable sins _

_There are no incurable ills  
There are no unkillable thrills  
One thing and you know it's true,_

_I don't ask much _

She was aware that the girl was already asleep in her arms but continued to sing softly anyway. She didn't even really like the song she was singing, a strange song by a British rock star who had taken too many drugs in his performance days. The song seemed to fit the mood for some reason though.

_There are no unachievable goals  
There are no unsaveable souls  
No legitimate kings or queens, do  
You know what I mean? yeah  
There are no indisputable truths  
And there ain't no fountain of youth  
Each night when the day is through,  
I don't ask much _

She didn't bother to finish the refrain anymore. She merely opened her eyes to lock her gaze with the leader of the Hellsing institution. Even if Seras couldn't send her thoughts to the girl, she knew the girl would understand what she was saying.

_Everything in that song is true. There are no unbeatable odds, no unwinable wars, no impossible dreams, and no forgivable sins. You will end this war, but the sin of leading those fall shall rest on your shoulders._

"If you have the will that can stand that, just give me an order and it shall be done, Lady Hellsing."

* * *

The song Seras is singing is an Ozzy Osbourne song called "I Just Want You". I'm not a real fan but last weekend I heard a woman singing this in the way I see Seras doing so while playing an acoustic guitar. It was eeriely beautiful and struck a coord within me and I could actually see Seras singing this song. I couldn't resist putting it in the chapter.  



	31. Chapter 30

Well folks, sorry for the exceedingly long delay on this. With school starting up again, I just really didn't have the time or inclination to work on this. This chapter was forced out after receiving plenty of email about people wanting more, both from this story and Dark Futures.**  
**Here's the next chapter. I might take a break from this story and work on a chapter of Dark Futures for a bit, but more likely is that I'll flush out some ideas I've been working out for a Naruto story. I still need to get around to finishing Tales of the Eternal Sphere as well (two more one-shots planned. Plot is actually done on both, its merely dialog that's holding me back.)

* * *

**Chapter Thirty: The Path is Cleared**

_I don't fear none of my enemies  
And I don't fear bullets from Uzi's  
I've been dealing with something thats worse than these  
That'll make you fall to your knees..._

Flynn once again cursed under his breath as he ducked behind another crate with his comrade, narrowing avoiding the gaze of the patrol that had turned the corner. _This is a really, really, really dumb idea..._ His partner seemed to be thinking similar thoughts only he said them openly. "This is insane."

Flynn only smirked as he turned his head to grin at the fallen priest. The man had a sour look on his face and already had his pistol unholstered and ready for action. "Why else do you think the two of us were sent on it?"

Perigrin's eyebrow twitched before saying, "I hope you know I find it insulting that I'm even considered as the same type as you." He looked away from the infuriating agent as he peered around the crate to see that the patrol had passed them. "Take them out?"

Flynn nodded, crouching down and sliding his right sleeve up slightly. "I'll do it, that weapon of yours will be too loud." Perigrin frowned at that but only nodded. Flynn returned it before slipping out from behind the crate. Perigrin closed his eyes and focused on his hearing, in order to track the movements of the man. He heard soft running, the unique sound of wires being extended that he had come to associate with the man's weapon, and then the sounds of several machine guns clanking to the ground. There was the sound of metal grinding against metal and stone slightly before he once again heard the soft running. Perigrin merely opened his eyes as Flynn stepped back behind the crate, carrying a small armory of weapons. He merely placed them down behind the crate and let out a sigh.

"Their ashes?"

"The wind has already scattered them. No one will know the difference." Flynn looked up into the night sky before letting out a low whistle of appreciation. "Thank god for small miracles."

Perigrin only smirked as he holstered his gun, instead retrieving his holy sword. "You should thank god for everything." Flynn's eyebrow only twitched before he scoffed under his breath. Perigrin kept his smile, once again peering around the crate before gesturing for the other man that the coast was clear.

Flynn remained low as he ducked around each and every corner, once again wondering how he had come to be where he was in life. _When I was a kid I wanted nothing more than to lay on the beach all day and watch beautiful women in bikinis walk by. Instead I'm out here in the dead of night, sneaking around a coastal military base overrun by vampires, with wind that's probably gonna give me frostbite, and with a priest of all things. Geez, my life sucks don't it?_

The base was mostly quiet, but then again it was the dead of night with weather you'd have to be mad to be out in. Infiltrating the base had been rather difficult, with both Flynn and Perigrin being forced to remain in hiding as they slowly made their way closer and closer to their arrival point. In a way they were lucky so few wanted to be out in this weather, as it made it easier for them to make patrols... vanish without any trace. They had studied the layout of the base ahead of time and knew which places to avoid on their way to the base's harbor.

Perigrin spoke once again, breaking Flynn out of his musings. "You realize that the may be all for naught?"

Flynn only shrugged as the two ducked behind another set of crates, their eyes locked on the two towers that sandwiched the harbor. Flynn couldn't see them but he knew from the intelligence they had received that each contained several freaks, and some heavy duty firepower for them to use to rain death upon anyone foolish enough to challenge them. "Come on, I'm sure mutey and his boys will pull through for us." He paused for a moment then added, "Come on, your boys are helping out as well and they've already shown they can do it, at least on a small scale." Perigrin only frowned as his mind trailed back a few days ago and the briefing he had sat in on.

-

The small briefing room was filled with wide-eyed stares and looks of disbelief. Alice Hellsing, a young woman who often struck some of the soldiers in the room as unflappable, sat that with her jaw hanging open in disbelief. Even the always focuses ex-crime lord couldn't believe what he had just been told. The gears that were always spinning in his mind had ground to a complete stop.

Seras merely chuckled at their reactions before walking out of the room, obviously pleased to have seen such a reaction. None followed her, still locked in place by what they had just heard. Finally, Coyote shut his mouth and shallowed slowly, mostly to dampen his dry throat before saying. "Could you please repeat that?"

The person he was referring to was dressed in a long white coat, dirty having been unwashed for too many years. A thick head of black hair bobbed as the man spoke excitedly, his glasses falling down to the edge of his nose often, forcing him to push them back up. "I said we've figured out how to bring down the barrier."

"Explain." The order was instantaneous, the voice of the Hellsing heir was like a good punch, sudden, strong and leaving no room to evade.

The man looked at her irritably for a moment, as if annoyed that she had broken his moment of glory. He gulped at seeing her hard stare, her blue orbs seemingly piercing deep into his soul, as if warning him to not waste her time. Pushing his glasses up again nervously, he began to explain. "Where to begin...

"As you know, the barrier first showed itself ten years ago when, from what information we have, Lysandra activated the Devil's Bane artifact. This barrier puzzled us, as it initially had no effect. However, after a point it began slowly expanding. It has the ability to block out all forms of electronic communication. The signals simply cannot pass through the rift.

"We discovered that the rift's energy is similar to the electronic interference that is given off by an electro-magnetic pulse. As for why vehicles seem to vanish as they try to pass through, we are still at a loss for. We are chalking it up to Lysandra herself."

"What do you mean?" Wildcard asked, a coin already being twirled between his fingers, only seeming to pay half attention to the researcher.

The man pushed his glasses up again as he explained. "Judging from information we've been able to acquire from working with Seras Victoria, it seems that the rift's energy is in fact amplified dark energy." Seeing the looks of confusion he continued,"We all are aware that some things obvious exist outside the realm of science. I'm not a religious man, but after seeing the stuff that both the vampires and those men from the Vatican can do in battle, it's kind of hard to continue to discount the powers they use. We have been able to isolate the energies from both the Catholics and Victoria through much painstaking effort, categorizing them into 'light' and 'dark' energies appropriately. After comparing Victoria's own power to that of the rift, we have found them to be remarkably similar. We are working under the impression that the artifact is in fact acting as a large scale amplifier for Lysandra's own dark energies.

There were a few murmurs at this but the man seemed to not notice. Or if he did, not care, being swept up in his own enthusiasm. "Moving on, both sets of energy follow a periodic rate when being used. In fact, the rates are the same, save their starting phase..."

As the man continued to explain about the energies and their attributes, Alice leaning closer to Flynn. He noticed and bent his head down slightly. She waited for a moment before a lost expression covered her face, "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"

Flynn only chuckled, "Not a clue. I didn't get much schooling before I took up this gig." She only nodded before focusing back on the researcher who seemed to be lost in his own little world, talking excitedly as several people merely looked at him with expressions ranging from understanding to absolute bafflement.

"Get to the point." Coyote growled, waiting for the researcher to explain what he said earlier.

The researcher blinked a few moments before getting embarrassed and running a hand over the back of his skull. "Sorry. To put it simply, we've been able to isolate the rift's signal."

Alice once again looked at her bodyguard before venturing, "...In layman's terms please. I never got the chance to even get out of preschool, let alone have an inkling to whatever it is you're talking about."

Coyote spoke up, "He means that since we know now exactly what the rift is, we can bring it down by sending out another signal... That is what you're getting at, isn't it?"

The researcher smiled as he pushed his glasses up again. "Precisely. We're already done it on a small scale, canceling out some of Victoria's power." The statement was spoken in a happy voice but it seemed to drain all vestiges of warmth from the room. The researcher backed up a step in spite of himself when he saw that he was the target of many looks of disbelief.

"You can bring down the rift?" Alice asked very slowly, careful to not let any hope color her tone. It was more like a statement than a question.

The man removed his glasses to rub his eyes before replacing them and saying sheepishly, "In theory..."

Flynn looked annoyed for a moment before barking out in an irritated voice. "So you honestly have no fucking clue, do you?"

The man shook his head. "We can, but only if we're lucky." He paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain it. "Let's put it this way, if you press your hand against a window, you can feel the tension in that section of the window. If you move your hand, so does the tension, but you can only apply to one area at a time." He looked confused for a moment, as if trying to figure out if his analogy even made any sense.

Perigrin was the first to understand. "You can only bring down a small section of it."

The man looked shocked before letting out a sigh. "Basically, yes that is correct."

Flynn looked at the researcher warily for a moment, "How big of a section?"

The man shrugged, "A few square meters. The device we've built isn't that strong."

Coyote scoffed. "That won't really help us at all."

Alice remained silent for a while as people began to discuss this new information before looking at Flynn and asking, "He said the Devil's Bane was acting as an amplifier. What is that?"

Flynn looked skittish for a moment before saying, "Think of it this way: a megaphone is an amplifier for your voice."

She seemed to understand before turning back to the researcher who seemed to be listening to the conversations around him. She called attention to herself as she asked, "Can you... amplify this device?"

The researcher looked at her as if she was an idiot. He held any snide comments to himself, knowing full well the girl didn't know any better. "The device can only emit the signal at a set strength. We can't make it any bigger."

It was then that Jin shook his head quickly, drawing attention of the room. The researcher looked confused as the agent began making agitated hand motions, as if trying to convey his thoughts. Even Fylnn was at a lost, "Mutey, you gotta slow down. I can't keep up with you."

Finally the man pointed to something that was sitting on a table towards the corner of the room. It was an old am/fm radio, obviously in disrepair. A few people blinked before the researcher grabbed his chin in thought. "That's... It might be possible..."

"What?" Asked Flynn, now even more confused by Jin's interest in the old broken radio.

"Its an interesting idea... If we could..."

Alice raised an eyebrow but Perigrin spoke first. "Out with it already!"

The researcher scratched his chin before saying, "Well we could try amplifying the signal through another emitting device, like an antenna."

There was silence before Coyote's eyes widened in understanding. "The BBC stations are still in use..."

The researcher nodded, his eyes starting to perk up at the prospects. "If we could, for the lack of an easier way to describe it, 'hijack the airwaves', we could amplify our signal to the point where if we couldn't bring down the whole rift, we could at least do it around a large area."

There was a long period of silence before Alice turned to Flynn and said, "Get Victoria and Christopher, as well as the other members of your division." She then looked directly at the other two leaders of the resistance and said, "We have much to discuss."

-

Flynn only sighed as the two relaxed behind a pair of large crates in the harbor. His eyes scanned the surroundings before absentmindedly trailing back up to the twin watch towers. Even in the night sky, he could see the moonlight reflecting off of those large Gatling guns. His eyes left the display of weaponry to the small group of boats that were anchored between them. Several in size ranging from simple motorboats to small Patrol Boats, formally of the English Navy. Despite the increased focus on aircraft in militaries around the world, the English Navy had stuck around like a cockroach in the world's show of military force. He could help but smile a small grin at it, remembering back when he was still a child reading about how several countries had not considered the English fleet a threat in the age of air warfare. The English Navy had laid siege to several ports of call and bombarded their enemies with raining death. It was something that had stayed with him as he became the vampire hunter he was, never underestimate an enemy's resources or you'll get a big ass cannonball shoved up your ass. "Now what?"

Perigrin merely scoffed under his breath as he closed his eyes, sliding down with his back against one of the crates. "We wait."

Flynn chuckled at the man's irritated tone before mimicking the man's posture and sliding to the ground himself. "I have to admit, even I am shocked by the plan the little princess came up with. She's taking a gamble I probably wouldn't."

That caused Perigrin to raise an eyebrow. "I thought you said 'Mutey and his boys will come through for us.' Having a change of heart?"

Flynn merely chuckled before closing his eyes and replying bitterly. "Not on our side. I'm merely wondering if the rest of the world gives a shit about England anymore. Like you said, this may be a waste of time." Perigrin said nothing at that but his face crinkled into a frown. Flynn looked at his timepiece before telling the other man. "We have an hour before the signal comes through. We should be able to reach the outside once the attack begins."

Perigrin scoffed. "You do realize that our attacking force consists of an incredibly low number?"

Flynn only chuckled. "Ye, of little faith Father. Draculina will come through for us."

"You all place far too much trust in her."

"Comes from having her kick the crap out of you too many times to count Father. Didn't she settle your hash once as well?"

"Shut up Catholic."

Flynn only smirked before replying in a happy voice, "Oh, I never told you Father? I'm an atheist." He couldn't help but chuckle at the priest's dirty glare as he looked towards the night sky.

-

"Do you think they're inside?" Alice asked, a pair of binoculars in her hands as she examined the base from afar.

"I have no doubts. They are good at what they do. Though Wildcard has a bad habit of being... unnecessarily loud." Seras responded, her red eyes locked on the two towers at the far end of the coastal base. "We should proceed."

"Agreed." Alice put down the binoculars before looked to the men to her right. It was a small strike force, enough for the preliminary strike to cause confusion. "Fire when ready." Two men who were shouldering a few the last rocket propelled grenade launchers only grinned in anticipation. It was rare for the resistance to initiate a full on attack. The other men held machine guns and one held a long sniper rifle. Agent Williams was already lining up his first shot, despite the fact that the non-silver bullets wouldn't do much other than irritate the target unless he severed the brain in one shot.

The man in charge nodded before calling out loudly, "Fire at will. Fire at will." As if one, the two men with the heavy artillery opened fire, twin rockets heading towards the base's main gate where a barricade was down and several freaks were loitering around, totally unprepared for their attack. The explosions rocked the air, causing the barricade to become nothing more than a smoking wreck. The freaks that were in view were gone, blasted to smithereens. After all, silver was not necessary when you incinerated a vampire's body.

Without waiting for any more orders, Williams and the snipers shared a few whispers before firing in succession. Alice couldn't see what they saw but knew better than to question the aim of the Agent. She turned to Seras and gave a nod. "Do it, we'll be taking a few more shots then falling back. Do as you see fit."

Seras looked at her with slight interest, similar to how she had looked at her in the sewers during their early conversation. She eventually gave a small smile before withdrawing her purple sunglasses from her pocket and placing them on her face. She then bowed slightly forward, crossing her arm across her chest. "As you wish, Lady Hellsing." Within moments, the darkness around her seemed to billow and grow before she stepped back into it, vanishing from their position.

Alice only blinked and shook her head that if Seras had seen it would have laughed at its similarity to that over her father's. She then called out in a loud voice, "Heavy Artillery, fire another round if we've got them. Same with the snipers, we're falling back in two minutes."

-

It didn't take long for Seras to reappear from the darkness. She only laughed inwardly as she watched the freak in front of her peering out of his window, his hands locked on the controls for the giant Gatling gun. He seemed to be looking for the source of the disturbance, as the base had turned into a panic. Seras scoffed to herself before slowly walking forward and bringing her arm back. The man turned to dust before he had even realized that Seras was there. She shook her head in slight disappointment before grabbing the controls for the large rapid-fire weapon and twisting it to aim at the other tower.

It was perhaps lucky in a way that no one else was around; that way no one would ever see the sadistic look of glee on Victoria's face as she clicked off the weapon's safety and pressed down on its trigger. "Say hello to my little friend..."

-

Flynn opened his eyes immediately at the wailing siren, knowing full well what was happening. _So it begins._ He didn't have to wait for the Iscariot across from him to wake, the man was already in a prepared crouch and peering around their shelter. "Right on time."

Flynn only smirked before rising to his feet and cracking his knuckles. "They should be moving in soon. Once Victoria makes her move, we'll make a break for the harbor." Perigrin only nodded before turning back to watch the frantic vampires race towards the Northern side of the base, away from the docks. His eyes were locked on the two towers, or more specifically the heavy military hardware glinting in the moonlight. As he watched, the gun on the right tower seemed to slump slightly for a moment before it began rotating to the side, more specifically, towards the other tower. A split second later the weapon blazed to life, raining down fiery metallic hell down upon the other watch station. The other tower's gun swiveled slightly before falling limp, its controller gone. The first gun stopped firing before it began to move back towards the center of the base. _She wouldn't..._

"Get down!" Flynn didn't have to hear the priest's order before he did so, the bullets flying overhead as the watch tower began to rain down bullets into the base, as if it was the judgment of god himself. After a few more moments, the firing stopped the echo of silence reigning supreme.

Perigrin rose to his feet immediately, raising his sword and gun as he did so. "We must move now before they come to investigate the towers." Flynn nodded as he quickly rose into a run and the two began their mad dash towards the harbor. Flynn only focused on his movements and what he could sense going on around him. He heard Perigrin taking a shot from his pistol every so often but ignored it in favor of their mad dodging and running through what could be contested as a battlefield.

They reached the end harbor and ran down the first dock they reached, heading towards a medium sized powerboat. As they rushed its gangplank, Seras appeared in front of them from out of the darkness. She only spared them a quick glance as the two passed. "Focus on preparing to leave, leave the protection to me. Get out of here as soon as you can, ditch the boat when you reach the rift, then shoot that flare gun we gave you earlier. Someone 'should' come."

Perigrin said nothing but he didn't have to. Both already knew he was already planning to do that before Seras even arrived. Flynn gave the woman a quick peck on the cheek as he passed her and immediately ducked the backhand she sent flying his way. "I'll miss ya darlin'." He said with a grin on his face, his voice once again falling into that idiotic Southern drawl.

Seras glared at him over her should before turning away as she saw the approach of freak vampires. "I'll be sure to give you a good beating when you get back for that one." She then began walking away from the boat.

Flynn couldn't resist the parting shot. "No thanks beautiful, I'm not into submission that much, though I'm sure you would make one hell of a dominatrix!"

Perigrin ignored his words and focused on getting the boat started. There was only one thing going through his mind. _Idiot..._

-

Seras glared over her shoulder at the parting comment as the boat began to move. _That brat..._ She was broken out of her thoughts when she heard the sound of a running crowd. She slowly turned her head back to look in front of her as the sound of people skidding to a stop and weapons being raised. She only smirked when she saw the gathering of freaks. "Freeze!"

Seras only chuckled at the command. She merely counted the number of freaks quietly before singling her eyes on one of them. The freak grew uncomfortable with the stare before Seras smirked and said in a low voice. "You shall be the one to live"

"Wha..." Before the freak even had time to finish his question, Seras vanished only to reappear in front of the closest freak. Without breaking his stride, she sent her fingers through the man's chest, decomposing the vampire into dust. The vampires scattered, shocked to find that the woman was able move that fast and now beginning the first vestiges of fear. Seras didn't move after the initial strike, seeming to find their shock amusing before they once again raised their weapons. She only smirked once again as they opened fire, hot leading bearing down on her. She once again vanished, feeling the thrill of once again experiencing the hunt.

It did not take long for Seras to dispatch all but a single vampire. The vampire had been disarmed and was trembling as Seras stared at him as if he were an interesting specimen. Seras took a single step forward, causing the vampire to stumble backwards and trip, landing on his backside. Seras only frowned before saying, "Don't move." The vampire froze at her tone, bordering on icy and passionate, a strange contradiction. She slowly walked forward, silently enjoying the fear she could practically taste radiating off the freak vampire, until she was right in front of him. She bent her knees so she was at eye-level with the vampire before she spoke, her red eyes chilling him to the core. "Do you know why I spared you?"

The vampire closed his eyes and took a deep breath to control his fear before answering, "No."

"You are going to be my little messenger... You will go to Lysandra and inform her that I wiped out every single one of her pawns at this facility. You will tell her that I am coming for her. Do you understand?"

"Ye... Yes..."

"Good. Now go before I change my mind." The vampire needed no further prompting before he rose to his feet and took off like a shot, as if feeling Victoria's presence alone was terrifying.

Seras only watched the vampire go in slight interest. She waited until she knew that no one was around before raising her hand to her mouth and begin coughing wildly. She bent forward slightly and continued coughing, the pain exploding in the back of her mind as she did so. Finally after a few moments she stopped before removing the hand from her mouth. She could feel beads of perspiration running down her brow as she looked at her glove, noticing the red splotches on it as if it was the most beautiful thing in the world. She snapped out of her reverie soon after as she stood up again. _Faster than I anticipated... or perhaps this was to be expected, I haven't used firearms to dispatch them in quite some time._ "Not good..."

She then pushed the disturbing thoughts from her mind to refocus on what she had told the freak she was going to do. She walked over to one of the large dust piles and picked up a machine gun, dropped by its former owner in her attack. She only looked at it with a slight smirk before turning. "Search and Destroy..." She whispered to herself as she heading back towards the main part of the base.

-

Flynn frowned as the boat rapidly approached the edge of the rift. He sighed to himself before spitting off the boat. _I bet this water is going to be damn cold too..._ "We're nearing the edge Father. Get as close as we can to it without touching."

"I know that idiot. Do you have the flare gun?" The priest responded back bitterly.

"Yeah, all nice and dry in a sealed bag."

"Then get ready to jump." Flynn only nodded as he sat on the edge of the motorboat. Father Perigrin soon joined him, a dubious expression on his face. "This had better work. We're placing a lot of faith on what may not be out there."

Flynn only smirked before jumping off the boat, "Thought that's what you priest types were good at." Perigrin ignored the jab and followed after the Hellsing member. They watched as the boat soon came into contact with the purple barrier, and once again they watched in absurd fascination as the boat seemed to vanish from existence. Without much ado, the two began swimming through the freezing cold waters out of the barrier. Once outside the barrier and a decent distance away, Flynn raised the sealed bag out of the water, opened it and retrieved the signal flare. Keeping the thing above water he said, "This better work."

The flare soared high into the sky, illuminating the light sky with an eerie light green color, sure to attract the attention of anyone near by. After firing the flare, Flynn tossed the empty pistol away and looked to his partner. Perigrin only nodded in the unspoken exchange. _Now we wait..._

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Yes, I know the concept of dark and light energies being a periodic signal is not explained well. Basically, I was originally intending to include a lot of signal and systems theory into the explanation, when I then realized that not a lot of people would probably understand what the hell I was talking about anyway. Thus, I simplified it, to the point where signal theory probably doesn't come into play. One of the many things I don't like about this chapter.

Just a side note in case anyone has not seen it yet. Jack Thompson is at his idiocy again. I won't spend time here really talking about him, because I'm sure no one cares. Let's just say I believe in what Tim Buckley of Ctrl-Alt-Delete has already said._  
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	32. Chapter 31

Well, I've delayed long enough on this. I found this chapter particularly hard just to get started on and get through, at least until I made it to a certain point. Once I hit that point it just flowed, and I think when you're reading you'll be able to tell.

**NOTE: **I've created a pair of forums that you can access through my profile page. One is for questions/comments on my two large stories, namely this and Dark Futures. The other is for basically any of the rest of my stuff. Feel free to post questions or comments there. I'll be able to answer those alot quicker than from reviews because to answer reviews I need to post another chapter and we all know how long that CAN take. Please comment on anything of interest, especially what you think of my writing style, story concepts, etc. I'm always willing to discuss that kinda stuff.

Well, on to why you people came here.

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**Chapter Thirty-One: Words of Challenge**

"_In ancient times, sorcerers hated when people recklessly opened their mouth. The mouth is the doorway for one's spirit... because words have the power to curse."_

_Tap, tap, tap._

Seras found herself leaning against the wall outside of one of the rooms within the subterranean base of the resistance. Her head was lowered and her eyes shut, as if she were asleep but all who were present knew she was ready for what was to come. Those who knew her better could see the impatience rolling off of her as her middle finger tapped rhythmically against the stone wall.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Griphten found himself watching her movements with a hint of discomfort, not fulling understanding why. His eyes continued to go from Seras to the large steel door that she stood next to. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself, knowing full well what tonight would mean.

_Tap, tap, tap._

The oriental swordsman sat next to the large door on the other side that Seras was. He sat with his right leg extended outwards and his left bend so that his knee was pointing upwards into their air and by his face. His head was leaned forward and the sheath for his silver blade rested against his right shoulder. He had been sitting like that for some time without making any sort of movement and if Griphten didn't know better he would swear that the man was actually asleep.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Several others were there as well, including the girl's caretaker, that old man who seemed to act as her right hand. Griphten didn't really know much about the elder man, only that he had served the previous two leaders of the Hellsing institution. His eyes trailed to the right to see the man known only as Coyote watching the door with an expression of irritation, his impatience showing through the mask he often tried to fool the members of Division S with. Standing next to him was a member of Iscariot, the Fallen Priest's second in command, who unlike the others wasn't watching the door at all. Instead he was on his knees in prayer, muttering something under his breath that Griphten couldn't make out.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Finally Griphten muttered the question on their minds. "What is taking so damn long..."

Seras only opened her eyes with a slight smirk. "She is getting the chance to act like a woman for the first time in her life. Let her enjoy; it may be the only time she has such a luxury."

Griphten looked at Seras funny before she closed her eyes again. Despite her odd words at the situation, it seemed that Seras' supply of patience was wearing thin as well, as she reached out with her right hand and banged against the door several times. The sound was low and hollow, for some reason giving Griphten a chilling sensation at the emptiness it seemed to want to convey. Not long afterwards, the handle on the giant vault-style door began turning rather slowly. The door opened and Griphten couldn't hide his shock.

He had always been around as the girl had grown up from her childhood. He had seen her immerse herself into the fighting, growing cold and dispassionate as time moved on. He was used to seeing her with a blank expression on her face, if not a bitter one, and dressed in dark pants and shirts, with a long coat to hide herself even further. All those images flashed through his mind for the next few moments as he stared at her in slight amazement.

Instead of the black clothing that she wore when out on missions with them was something... else. Gone were the sweat pants that allowed her the freedom of movement she desired, as was the dark t-shirt and coat. Instead she wore an ensemble that raised a few eyebrows; a dark red suit, similar to what the men in Division S wore. Gone was the hip holster that held the small pistol she used, the weapon now resting in a shoulder holster that rested heavily under the jacket portion of the suit. Her platinum blond hair had been cut to the point where it was shorter, only reaching down a few inches rather than to her shoulders where it had previously. Around her waist was a belt connected to a small sheath marked with the Hellsing family coat of arms, holding within a small rapier with a cross at its hilt.

And most shocking of all was the fact that she was refusing to look any of them in the eye. If Griphten had been looking closer, he wouldn't probably noticed a small blush underlying the girl's face from the attention she was receiving from all of them.

Before anyone could say anything she spoke up, her voice firm even though it could easily be seen that she was not comfortable at the moment. "If any of you say one word I'll shoot you myself."

Seras only chuckled at that, reaching into her pocket and pulled out her purple sunglasses. "No you won't, because that's a waste of silver." She put them on and pushed them back a little before turning to face the teenage girl. "Get your self-consciousness out now, because there won't be time for it later."

The girl only glared back at the vampire before replying, "I'm aware. Let's go, there are still things to finalize before we need to make our move. The window that we promised is coming up and we need to be in position for this gamble to work."

Seras only nodded. She turned away but looked over her shoulder and said, "That look suits you, no pun intended. You look disturbingly like the first Hellsing I served." With those words, Seras began walking, eventually fading into the darkness leaving everyone else there.

Alice only frowned before turning to face the Iscariot and Coyote. "We must finalize the preparations, we move in 90 minutes." The two merely nodded and began walking away, Alice following alongside them and talking with Coyote about the night.

Girphten was silent for a few moments more before turning to Jin. "You think this crazy idea is going to work?" Jin only slowly stood up, replacing his blade at his side before opening his eyes to look at the man. He only nodded once, before walking after the rest at a steady pace. Griphten sighed and mumbled a quick prayer to himself before following after, tossing a glance over his shoulder at the now-vanished vampire. _Tonight is the end, one way or another._

-

When the rift went up ten years ago, Lysandra's forces took control of England quickly. Her unstoppable army had divided itself, a tenth of it keeping to hunting down the remnant factions of vampire hunters that had become scattered in the chaos of the weeks after the failure at Buckingham, most of these forces becoming easy pickings for the methodical slaughter teams that roamed the countryside. The rest of Lysandra's army had occupied itself by taking control of various military installations, large cities, and places of interest that would serve Lysandra's needs.

This takeover included all forms of communication as well, in order to further prove her might over the huddled masses of terrified humans. Newspaper buildings were burned to the ground, various television and radio buildings and towers literally wiped off the face of the planet. This information purge lasted for several months before Lysandra decided to keep a few around. Rather than destroying the flow of information to her human 'donors', she instead used these information rings to her own needs. Now even those who lived in hiding still listened to vampire controlled airwaves, for both radio and television, that is when someone could find a functioning device.

Part of this plan fit well into the blood farming ideas. Knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to constantly have her slaves give blood, for they would most likely die out far too quickly, her Lieutenants formed a system where a certain number of 'donors' from each area would have to give blood every night. They used the British Broadcasting Stations, or at least what was left of them after the fall of light, to coordinate this effort. In essence, everyone human was glued to the radio or television nearest to them at a certain time every night, if only to know if it was their area's turn on the chopping block to donate their vital fluids. Any sectors who missed their 'appointment' were subject to extreme punishment, usually involving the complete and utter annihilation of said sector.

Perhaps it was only merely done for the convenience of those who ruled. Or perhaps it was a sick joke; a slap in the face making sure to put the humans in their place.

Regardless of the reasons involved, it was this network that Alice pondered as her moderate sized group traveled, commandeering some abandoned jeeps from one of the destroyed military bases that was along the travel route. She remained silent as the vampire next to her in the back of the vehicle continued to watch the horizon, as if watching for the first sign of their target. The strange purple rift covered the sky, blanketing the land in what always seemed like eternal twilight while the sun was in the sky. Alice sighed as she rubbed her eyes in weariness. _Irritating. I'm already worn out and we haven't even begun yet._

Seras' voice broke her from her thoughts like a slap to the face. "Then sleep child. We have some time before darkness falls, or we reach our destination. Exhausting yourself beforehand will not help."

Alice glared at the one-armed vampire, who wasn't even looking at her, with a twitch in her eyebrow. She didn't let it show in her voice, but anyone looking at her could see the anger present. "Stay out of my mind bloodsucker."

Seras only shrugged. "I wasn't delving into your mind. It's written all over your body actions. I'm just the first with the nerve to actually tell you." Alice continued to stare at Seras for quite some time before the vampire decided to look at the girl. She noticed the serious expression crossing the girl's face before smirking and saying, "Red isn't your color, though under the circumstances it'll work."

Alice ignored the bad attempt at a joke before asking in a toneless voice. "You served my father." It wasn't a question but rather a statement, as if challenging Seras to dispute the claim.

Seras allowed the purple sunglasses to drop down her nose a bit to reveal her eyes. "I did."

Alice turned away for a moment, looking out the side of the moving vehicle. Seras watched her in silence for a bit, sensing that there was a reason that question had been asked. Without turning to face her, the young girl asked, "What was your impression of him?"

Seras sighed, scratching her head as if wondering how to answer the question. "William... your father was a decent man. We didn't really see eye to eye on how the organization should be run, and until the days before his death we didn't get along at all." Seras paused, realizing she had the girl's full attention before continuing. "He became the leader of the Institution at far too young an age, like yourself, although he did have a few more years on you if I remember correctly. He wasn't prepared for it, and it showed in how he led the organization."

"Are you saying he was incompetent?" The girl asked in a disinterested voice, as if the conversation was already boring her.

Seras shrugged. "He paled in comparison to the leader before him, your grandmother. However, he grew into his role, much like you have. He had potential that was starting to show towards the end. I would have been interested to see how far his potential would've lasted him."

"I see."

Seras pushed her glasses back up and looked away from the girl again. "Was there any reason for that line of questioning?"

There was a long pause before Alice spoke up. "I don't understand why I'm the one doing this."

Seras shrugged. "The English people will be moved by the words of one of their own. Despite what that crook, Coyote or whatever his name is says, he has no true charisma. Not the kind to move a nation to war. If Perigrin was present, he could perhaps do it but I doubt he would. That leaves you."

"You truly think the maggots of this 'country' will be ready to follow a whelp?" Alice asked in a bitter tone, her hand playing with the cross pendant she wore. Seras didn't say anything in response. Alice continued playing with her necklace idly, the conversation already fading from her mind as the vehicle continued to move.

There was a soft sigh which broke Alice from her musings to look at the vampire. Seras had removed her sunglasses and placed them on her leg as she rubbed her eyes with her hand. "This country hasn't fallen as much as you seem to think. The maggots you see in this destroyed land; they exist everywhere. Whether England, Europe, the American Empire, or the Middle East, the same pattern would've followed in any place where this calamity happened. Many of those maggots are considered great men, leaders, and geniuses. Humans have always given titles like that away, trying their best to hide the plan and simple truth."

"Which is?" Alice asked, her interest peaked.

"That almost all humans are maggots, or at least the kind you're thinking of. Very few have the ability to think beyond their own lives when threatened. Sure, there are those few noble souls who will give up anything and everything for the good fight; for the fight where someone besides themselves will benefit. But the ones who truly do that are few and far in between. Take your little resistance for example. I'm sure a good number are fighting because they think you're fighting the good fight, but I can bet you that more are doing it for their own survival, regardless of if your on the right side or not.

"The human race is a petty species, when you look at it from the outside."

The driver finally spoke, after listening to Victoria's whole rant. "That's a pretty pessimistic view of the world."

Seras continued, ignoring the driver, "Someone once told me that humans forget the true nature of the world..."

Alice cut her off, "I've no need to listen to the ramblings of someone who has already died."

Seras laughed at that. "My apologies Lady Hellsing. It seems that I got carried away." Her laughter was abrubtly stopped short as her eyes flickered towards the horizon. Seras lost her smile and her face went blank as she replaced her sunglasses. "The field of operations is in in sight."

Alice followed the vampire's gaze but couldn't see what Seras was referring to. "It seems we still have some time though."

Seras nodded. "Forgive me, I tend to forget that humans aren't as... advanced as I am." She paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I cannot tell you anything that you want to hear child. I will only say this: the honorable blood of the Hellsing family flows through you. A family given a duty of the highest importance and honor from your country."

"My family is dead vampire. I am the last."

"All the more reason to live up to your ancestors' will. Be glorious, daughter of Hellsing." Seras said with utmost solemnity. Her eyes remained locked on whatever it was that she could see that the rest of the occupants of the vehicle couldn't. There was silence for quite some time before Alice could begin to see their target in the distance. Without so much as a word she removed her pistol from its holster and make sure it was loaded before pulling the slide back and staring at Seras with a look of determination. Seras only smirked, _This girl will be the one to end England's nightmares._

-

Within the hour the group had reached their staging point. The jeeps were pulled into a dilapidated parking garage that was no longer used by the people who used to work at the television station. Few even noticed the convoy of vehicles pull in and drive up until the fifth floor parking area. Even less noticed the small assault force readying itself in that same lot.

Seras didn't say much after leaving the vehicle, leaving the young woman to issue orders to her men. She gave the impression she wasn't paying attention or that she didn't care in the slightest for orders but she was absentmindedly evaluating the plans of the young leader of the resistance. Seras frowned at that. _No, not the resistance but rather the Hellsing Institution. Iscariot is too busy fulfilling their end of the bargain and Coyote's goons as of now should be getting into their positions, readying for their own battles tonight._

Finally Seras spoke, her voice interrupting the girl. "Lady Hellsing, I must request that you remain here until we have confirmation that the facility has been cleared."

Alice nodded. "Understood, are you taking part in the assault?"

Seras pushed off the wall she had been leaning against. "No, I will observe and act if necessary but this is your fight, not mine."

Alice frowned at the vampire's wording for a moment before saying, "...Whatever..."

"Jin, remain with Lady Hellsing and act as her guard." She then pointed to one of the soldiers before snapping her fingers and holding up her hand, "Headset." She requested, a blank look on her face. Alice watched in slight interest as the one-armed vampire fumbled with the headset before running through the standard checks with the device. Agent Griphten walked over to the woman, carrying a rather large assault rifle in his arms, the name of which the young leader of the Hellsing organization couldn't remember. Seras only snatched the burly weapon from the man's hands as if it were made of paper before chuckling and handing it back to the man. "I won't be needing that." She did however take a few flash-bangs and strap them to her waist before walking away.

Alice frowned at the pure blood's amusement before barking out in a loud voice. "Enough dawdling. You all have your orders. Our time frame is rapidly approaching; the target needs to be cleared before we can act. You have fifteen minutes." She then closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen."

Seras watched as the soldiers, being led by Agents Griphten, Williams and other Division S members, saluted as one to the once familiar prayer. Within moments they began to go to work, moving quickly to descend the garage and move towards their objective. She smirked as she noticed the blank look on the girl's face as she watched them leave and decided that it was time she got going as well. The shadows around her rippled as she stepped backwards into them, leaving the girl and her bodyguards alone as they watched the soldiers move to attack.

-

Griphten remained calm as they rapidly approached the building's entrance. Information about the skeleton crews that ran the BBC television stations had been sketchy at best. The station itself wasn't all that special. It was a six floor building with a large lobby, and numerous offices and studios. From what they understood, it was run by a few freak vampires and some normal humans who followed orders since they had the skills to keep the station running.

_Hell, even the woman who announces which sectors are to be taken is a bloody human. I guess they didn't want to scare the populace more than necessary._ He frowned at that thought but thinking, _Or rather Lorenz has a really sick sense of humor._ He held up his arm with a closed fist, signaling for his group to halt. He closed his eyes and focused on his ability that had become a part of him ever since Victoria had brought it to his attention oh so long ago.

_Hmm, a decent number. More than we were expecting... Somewhere around twenty to thirty in scattered rooms..._ "Fuck..." Griphten muttered under his breath before bringing his hand up to cuff the transmitter near his mouth. "Victoria, you read me?"

"Victoria here. What is it?" Her voice came through the transmitter loudly, as if she wasn't whispering in the slightest and could care less if she had been detected.

"Are you detecting what I think I'm detecting on the... forth floor?"

"Affirmative. There's a subservient pure blood here. Unexpected..." Her voice conveyed a tone of thoughtfulness, as if considering something.

"Can you take it out? There are more than we expected and quite frankly we just don't have the time?" Griphten requested, oddly wondering if Victoria would tell him to screw off. Somehow he wouldn't be surprised.

"... Leave the floor to me. I'll take care of it."

Griphten let out a sigh of relief. "Understood. To all units, change of plans. Squads 1 and 2 are to head to the second floor after the lobby has been secured. There aren't any vampires on the first floor anyway, however the concentration of them is on the third and fifth floors. Squads 3 through 6 have the third floor, squads seven and eight head past the forth floor with caution onto the fifth. Once each floor as been cleared, post guards and continue upwards until we have confirmation that the target is secured. Are we clear?" Various replies of "Yes sir." came through the com-link and Griphten nodded, lowering his arm and once again leading his squads into battle. _Let slips the dogs of war..._

The approach was slow and methodical. As they entered the lobby, the few humans walking around stared in disbelief before following the orders they were given and dropping to the floor. Many stared in disbelief and awe as the soldiers quickly passed through, heading to separate stairwells. Griphten led squads 1 and 2 while Williams and the others continued upwards, their own squads having their assignments.

Griphten watched his squad's actions as if he was an outside observer. He watched with slight interest the cruel methodology that the troops of Hellsing used as they moved from room to room, mowing down freak vampires as if they were gnats. _I suppose the element of surprise is something to be contended for. I can sense it on the upper floors as well, chaos is erupting everywhere and the freaks don't know how to deal with it._ He turned his head away as he heard a cry of "Flash bang away" as one of his soldiers threw a flash grenade into a small office before slamming the door shut. The explosion echoed through the wall and the door was kicked in, a pair of soldiers entering the room and firing bursts of ammunition before moving further inward. Calls of "Clear!" Echoed through the headset on his squad's channel as the teams moved quickly through the floor.

Sensing that the vampires on this floor were dead, Griphten spoke into his headset, "This is Griphten. Squad 1 set up a perimeter around the stairwells, squad 2 head upwards to assist the others squads." He twisted the dial on his headset before speaking again, "Williams, What is the situation on floor three?"

"Not as bad as it could be. We've taken light casualties but should be done soon. Forget about sending squad 2 here, send them up to assist the upper floors."

"Understood." He twisted the dial back before barking out new orders. "Squad 2, skip floors three and four and head to the fifth." He twisted the dial once again before speaking, "Victoria, what's your situation?"

He wasn't answered right away but he felt a rather large spike in dark energy on the forth floor, as if Victoria was answering his request in her own way. He sensed in amusement as the numbers on that floor dropped to almost nothing in a matter of moments. "Forth floor cleared." Victoria's voice rasped through the radio. She sounded rather strained, causing Griphten to raise an eyebrow.

"Are you wounded Victoria?"

"No. Just... tired. Get back to the troops squad leader. I can take care of myself." Griphten remained on that end for a few more moments until her heard static coming out of the channel before turning the dial back and proceeding onwards with Squad 2.

-

The remnants were cleared out quickly as the building was secured. The humans working the station were terrified until Alice Hellsing walked in, her entourage of bodyguards following her. She immediately demanded to speak to the man in charge of the daily reports and gave a thorough briefing of what was going to take place. The man at first was hesitant until he saw the glare in the girl's eyes, a glare that promised immense pain if he did not get with the program. After a few tense moments of silence, he agreed to her requests and got his people to work preparing for something that in another age they would have killed for. The story of the decade that is.

The target time approaching quickly was pushed to the back of everyone's minds as the soldiers set up a perimeter around the television station and assisted where needed to fine tune the station's signal as required. Jin and a few of the scientists that had developed the 'rift breaker', as the resistance had come to call it, were found working furiously to fine tune their device through the stations signal, to tie it in with the broadcast that would come in under minutes.

Seras merely stood in the background of the main studio as all this went on. She remained silent and in the shadows, once again leaving the young leader of the Hellsing organization to only guess what was going through the vampire's mind. Her mind was quickly diverted to more pressing issues as she managed her people and listened to perimeter reports.

Griphten eventually found his way to Seras and leaned against the wall next to her. His hands relaxed behind his head before he let out a sigh as he watched the girl argued with one of the station employees about not needing makeup for the broadcast. "You think the little princess is ready for this?"

Seras shrugged, "Are any of us?"

"Touche. You think it'll work?"

Seras only smirked at that before pushing off the wall to go speak with the young blond haired girl. "If it doesn't we're screwed anyway. As Wildcard would say, 'call it in the air bitch.' " She chuckled at the look of disbelief at her easy going nature in regards to the situation but turned her head back to the girl as she approached her.

Alice was waving off a few of the station people as Victoria reached her. A few gave Seras the odd stare, as if trying to figure out the color of those eyes behind those purple lenses before the young girl's glare told them to leave. Alice took a sip of water from a bottle that had been given to her before speaking to Seras, not looking at her. "The broadcast will begin in about five minutes. Our signal is prepared to be launched with the broadcast."

"I see."

Alice looked up to the older woman with a lost look in her eyes. "Any last minute advice?"

Seras smirked. "Your father once asked me the same thing? You want to know what I told him?"

The girl's mouth curled into a small sardonic grin. "Sure."

"You're taking advice from a blood sucker? Will wonders ever cease?" Seras said in mock seriousness. This caused a small chuckle in the girl before she calmed down, losing her smile and taking another deep breath. Seras could see the broadcast countdown timer over the girl's shoulder and let a sympathetic expression cross her face. She placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, causing the girl to flinch uncontrollably at the touch of the undead. "Actually I do have some last minute advice if you'd care to listen."

Alice nodded. "By all means..."

Seras chuckled at the girl's worried tone. "A long time before you were born... hell before I was born... there was a general in the American Empire, well I guess it was the United States back then but that doesn't matter, who used to sit alone, braving the worst of blizzards as his troops marched." Seras paused for a moment, letting her words sink in before continuing. "It was also said that his army had unbelievable strength and stamina." She paused again then asked in a soft voice. "Do you understand?"

The girl scoffed. "You speak in riddles and expect me to understand?"

Seras chuckled before her face took a serious expression. "A commander with an indomitable spirit can make a soldier's heart burn like fire." She watched impassively as the words sunk into the girl's mind as the timer slowly counted down, only a minute left. "Those words were something that was explained to me a long time ago, and the truth in them is undeniable. This is your time to show your spirit, and that of the Hellsing family. Make your ancestors proud."

The girl only nodded in response before responding to a call of 'thirty seconds!' She closed her eyes and took one last deep breath. When she opened them she merely held out the bottle for Victoria to take with a a fierce look on her face. Seras blinked in shocked once again to the girl's resemblance to Intergra from so long ago before taking the bottle from the girl and moving off camera. The girl turned to face the camera with that same look as the her ancestor as she received the cue that they were live.

-

People around England were tuning in to the broadcast as they did every night. After all, it was rather important if they wanted to survive and not be the cause of they entire sector's demise. So routinely around this time people would flock towards any place where they knew a radio or television was. It had become a depressing and morbid routine in their lives.

Thus many were surprised when they didn't see the usual sight coming through on the broadcast. Instead of the pawn that the vampire's used to deliver the bad news, a young girl with cold blue eyes wearing a dark red suit was on the broadcast, looking into the camera as if trying to meet the eyes of everyone who watched. Even those listening to the radio could tell something was off, as the sound of the station being live was present but no one had begun to speak yet.

Finally a voice filtered through the airwaves. One that felt as if it should not have been coming from a sixteen year old but rather an older woman who had lived through hell. "Good evening, citizens of England. We interrupt your regularly schedule broadcast for something far more important. Something that will go down in history as... the Hellsing manifesto." The girl paused for a moment, as if not sure what to say before continuing, "My name is Alice Hellsing, the 24th generation leader of the Royal Protestant Knights, also known as the Hellsing Organization." She paused once again, "An organization that suffered complete failure ten years ago, and England has paid the price for it."

There was a chorus of light mummers at this information. Yes it had become common knowledge that the Hellsing organization used to exists as an extension of the crown, tasked with the purpose of eliminating vampires. It had been ever since the rift opened, after all it was hard to suppress rumors which eventually were confirmed by Lysandra's goons. Some of those more informed for whatever reason also realized that they were now watching one of the leaders of the Resistance forces, many being caught off guard by how young she was.

"Like all of you, my world was shattered ten years ago when the Elder vampire Lysandra, the bloody countess, opened the rift and sealed our country into eternal darkness. Like many others, I was forced to flee for my life, watch as loved ones were killed and turned into mindless ghouls, and even forced to set those I would call my friends free before they turned into the undead." The girl on the screen lowered her eyes away from the camera at this, as if ashamed of her actions. A few moments later she raised her head again and looked back towards the camera. "We, our people, have been forced to live in this... hell we used to call our homeland for a decade with little to no hope of survival, many of us merely wishing for death to be free of it.

"I have traveled among you, fought alongside those in the resistance with our foreign allies from the Vatican. I have trained my whole 'life' for one purpose, and one purpose only." Her eyes narrowed in the television picture at this point, causing many to take a step back, surprised by the sudden hostility in the girl's face, many feeling pity that one so young could have such an expression. "And that is to correct the mistakes of my organization's failures."

"I once thought that the survivors of England who followed the whims of the undead scum who walk the earth were lower than maggots for not standing up for themselves, for not fighting, for merely accepting domination from the dark." She paused before a gentle smile covered her face before she spoke again, "It was then that I realized my world was one much different that most peoples. I grew up around demons, eventually forgetting that they were not human. Thus I was comparing humans to things that were not human, leading to my foolish attitude. It's only natural that demons are stronger than humans, they always have been." She then paused and lost her smile, "But it is always humans that send demons back to the abyss."

Her gazed didn't waver in the slightest as she continued, "Tonight, our resistance forces are in position to strike at many of Lysandra's key locations. When this broadcast ends, a new war against the undead will begin anew and unlike all others, this war will be settled in a single night." She paused for a moment before continuing, "I know many think that such a concept is foolish and impossible. It has been tried before but it has always failed. Why should this time be any different?"

She then smirked before turning her head and nodding to someone off camera. "There is a reason for this, and I don't care if the undead know about it. We have been able to dispatch several our agents beyond the rift, to the outside world. They are bringing aid, the likes of which our country has not seen since... perhaps ever. And we are dealing the most damaging blow to Lysandra at this very moment." She looked back to the camera and smirked once again before saying in a calm voice, "People of England, look to the skies and tell me what you see."

Many scoffed at the girl's attempt at inspiration before there were gasps. People turned to find others staring at the sky in wonder. All eventually turned to the sky to see the purple film of energy that had haunted them for the last ten years slowly disappointing into nothingness. Many cried at the sight, others wondering if they were dreaming. Many stared in awe at an untainted night sky that they haven't seen in over a decade. Some who had never seen it at all. Throughout all of this, the voice of the young girl reverberated in the minds of all those who heard it. "The rift is temporarily down. Our foreign allies are bringing aid for the first time since their failed invasions in the past, and this time they know what they're dealing with."

The girl continued on, once again gathering the attention of all those listening. "We are in a position to end this nightmare once and for all. This is the culmination of everything we have been praying for and wishing for in the last ten years. The Resistance is prepared to end this tonight, to wake from the nightmare, but we can't do it alone." This drew a few mummers from the crowd again as many began to fidget in place, understanding what this... girl was asking of them.

She continued on, as if she could see the fear and concern in their faces. "I understand that this is asking a lot of you, many of which no doubt are afraid of what may come. I would be lying if I said I felt otherwise, but I make it a point not to lie. However, you, the people of england, young and old, should stop underestimating yourselves. It has been our sole advantage over the undead for the last ten years is that they underestimate the people of this great nation.

"I have traveled among you, hid among you, fought and bled alongside many of your. I have faced your hardships, taken them on as my own, and still continued to fight on behalf of the human race. I do not see the same thing that Lysandra's slaughter squads see. I do not see mere humans quivering in fear, too scared to do anything, too weak to stand up for themselves. I saw something completely different because I am human like all of you."

The girl's eyes seem to glow fervently, and it was easy to tell that the girl was speaking from the heart. "I saw a sleeping army of millions, waiting for the right time to awaken and strike deep into the darkness, to drive back the undead from the hell from whence they came."

She paused for a moment before speaking up again, "I speak to you now not as the leader of the Hellsing institution, nor as a member of the resistance. I do not speak to you as an English woman, wanting to retake her homeland from the undead. I am speaking to you all as a human being, a survivor. We are fighting to survive, the right to live, something that we know we all deserve." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening those glaring blue eyes and slamming her hand down on the table behind her. "I am making a request to any humans who hear my calls: Fight! Fight for your survival; rise up against our undead dictators, reclaim what is ours! I promise you that if you all lend me your strength, we will not lose this night! I promise you that by the night's end we will win the freedom we lost ten years ago!"

There was dead silence for the next few moments as the girl's words ran through the mind of all who heard them. The girl was silent for a few more moments before speaking, "We will be signing off shortly, but I wish to say one last thing to our enemy." The girl paused, glaring at the camera and the hostility and hatred could be read off of the girl's face. "Bloody Countess, I want you to know that we are coming for you. Prepare yourself for your death. WE have neutralized the Devil's Bane, and we are coming to send you back to Hell. Wait for us you undead whore, wait and we will show you what humans are truly capable of."

The girl lost the glare for a more determined expression before saying one last line. "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen." The girl then walked off-stage and then a test pattern appeared on the tv screens while the radio stations went dead silent.

-

When the rift went down for the first time in ten years those outside the rift were able to receive signals from within. Within a transport plane flying toward the Western coast of England, the radio signal of Lady Hellsing's impassioned speech reached the ears of the occupants within.

Many didn't really know what to make of the girl's words, not having lived within the hell that was England for the last ten years. Many of them still didn't truly believe that England had been in the control of vampires for the last decade, still insisting the footage from so long ago was the premise for a movie or something.

However, in this plane there was at least one soul who was grinning like a madman as the words came through the trans-atlantic channel. Several of the soldiers around him merely looked at him as if he was insane, which in most cases they would probably be considered wise in thinking so. However as the girl's speech hit it's climax, the man only cheered out loud. "Way to go Little Princess!"

"Sir?" Questioned one of the soldiers as he listened to the girl's words, idly wondering who the voice belonged to.

"Call me Wildcard kid."

"...Is this the 'leader' you spoke of to our government?"

Xavier Flynn merely nodded with excitement, "That's our leader boys. Don't underestimate the girl, she's been trained by some of the best in vampire hunting, including myself."

"...Right..."

Flynn merely frowned at the soldiers' looks of disbelief before scoffed. "Aw shaddup. Figures the first time I talk to some good ol' American boys that they have no imagination in the slighest." He then cracked his knuckles and ran his fingers over his strings before saying, "I'd say its time we showed that blood sucking bitch what the American Empire is capable of!"

There were many cries of "Yes sir!" before Flynn grinned as he listened to the end of the speech, knowing full well that the Fallen Priest was listening to the same thing on one of the other planes. _We're coming little princess. The cavalry will be there soon enough._

-

Alice let out a deep breath as the camera went to standby mode. Her body sagged slightly but Seras quickly moved to catch the girl, apparently weak from all the energy she put into her passionate plea to the people of England. Alice grabbed Seras arm to steady herself for a moment before saying, "I'm fine. We must start moving to the rendezvous point."

Griphten heard the girl's comment and began barking out orders. "That's it men, we're moving. We've got allies to meet up with then we're heading back to London to kick some ass!" There were numerous cheers at this point and the soldiers began to shuffle out.

Seras merely shook her head before slowly releasing the girl. She only looked the girl in the eyes before placing a hand on her head affectionately, as if she were Seras own daughter. Kindness and amazement were present in the vampire's eyes, even behind the sunglasses she wore to conceal her blood read irises.

"Excellent work Commander Alice Hellsing, 24th generation leader of the Hellsing Institution. You've done well, your ancestors would be proud."

* * *

I really liked writing that speech, though I couldn't tell you why. I seriously have like 20 different versions of it sitting around in various notebooks. If I ever get around to rewriting this story (Though I suppose I would have to finish it first...heh) I'll probably go digging around for various input about it, not to mention seeing if I can find any really good speechs that I could some copy the flow or style of.

Whatever. Hope you enjoyed it.


	33. Chapter 32

Next installment. In all honestly, this story is almost done. I originally planned to make this chapter longer but after I reached ten pages I realized that if I went to the point I had planned to, it probably would've been double the size of one of my normal chapters, and then messed up the size of future chapters. In all honestly, this is probably the second to last chapter. So one more after this then a short epilogue that will probably only run a page or so.

Next order of business: I know some people who follow this also read my Zelda story. Check my profile for info about that fic, since it might be heading the way of the dodo (Thus being said, do not leave reviews to comment on that. That's why I made the forums in my profile.)

To anime fans, try checking out a new series I started watching called Fate/Stay Night. It holds quite some promise and some of the character designs are really impressive.

Enough chatting, enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Two: A New Kind of Army**

"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills;we shall never surrender. "

Seras only closed her eyes as the jeep raced down the old dirt road, bouncing every now and then from the deterioration of said road. She had seen the planes flying overhead, and with the rift down, the resistance was receiving radio signals from all parts of the country, either from allied forces or intercepted reports of uprisings around the country. _It seems the little princess' speech had more effect than we ever hoped for..._

"Victoria, wake up. We're almost there." Seras opened her eyes at the sound of Griphten's voice. She looked at him from behind her purple lenses before he pointed towards the hill side they were driving up. "The rendezvous-point is just over this ridge. We should be meeting up with some of the forces that Wildcard and the Fallen Priest brought back, as well as some of our own resistance forces."

Seras only nodded before letting the sunglasses slide down her nose a bit. "Our boys, or Coyote's?"

Griphten only let out a grim smirk. "Ours... and some of the Vatican's. Although at this point, they are ours and we are theirs, if you get my meaning." Seras pushed the glasses back up a bit with her hand before tilting her neck to her right side until an audible crack was heard. She did the same for the left before raising her hand and slowly curling her fingers into a fist, the knuckles cracking loudly and deliberately as the jeep came closer to their destination. Griphten only looked at her from behind the wheel and cringed, "That's really disgusting, you know that?"

"Want some cheese to go with that whine?" Seras snapped back in amusement as they finally reached the top of the ridge. Griphten's eyes widened as he slammed on the brakes, the car twisting slightly before coming to a stop. It didn't take long for the other vehicles following them to stop in a similar fashion, although they all would've done so due to the same reason. Seras saw what had grabbed his attention and stood up in her seat, standing out above the top of the open-roofed jeep. "Jesus Christ..." She muttered out in stunned amazement, a tone that at any other moment the man next to her would have found amusing to hear from the vampire. At the moment he was far too transfixed on the sight before him to even notice.

Below them was a small army, complete with some light armored vehicles being unloaded from the series of large transport aircraft parked in the long field below them. Rows of soldiers being unloaded from other planes, marching into formations with practiced ease. The markings of the United Nations was emblazoned on most of those planes, a few others bearing other emblems of various countries.

Griphten watched all this in complete shock. "Thats... a lot more than I was expecting..."

"Bloody hell..." Seras muttered softly under her breath before sitting back down. "Come on kid, let's get moving. The little Princess has got herself an army to organize and run."

Griphten nodded before gunning the engine again, the jeep taking off towards the gathering forces. Griphten handed Seras a small headset and told her, "Tell the little Princess that she should be prepared. Tell her she isn't to go anywhere in that mess without at least two members of Division S with her."

Seras nodded before struggling with the damned headset again. "Wrath, this is Draculina. Respond please."

A few moments passed before a female voice came through the radio. "Wrath here. What is it?"

"Radar says that he wants you to keep some our shadow walkers with you at all times when we arrive. As far as we know, Wildcard and the Fallen Priest already gave them the scoop on how things are going to work but we never expected such numbers. I'm not sure how they'll react to taking orders from you."

"Copy that Draculina. I plan on keeping Samurai and Crackshot as guards for the time being, but I want you around too."

Seras frowned before giving her consent. "Copy that Wrath. ETA, two minutes." She then tore the headset off before muttering to Griphten, "This should prove interesting. I just hope these idiots don't get in our way."

Griphten only smiled at those words before chiding the vampire as if she were a child. "Now play nice Seras. The nice soldiers down there are just trying to help."

She only glared at him before turning back to the forces below them. She grabbed her sunglasses and placed them on the dashboard for a moment to rub her eyes before replacing them. "Bloody hell..."

It didn't take them long to reach the bottom of the hill. The small convoy of stolen jeeps came to a stop outside the staging area, as several groups of soldiers leveled weapons on them, calling out to them to identify themselves. Alice Hellsing removed herself from her vehicle, carrying the remnants of an English flag, where the girl had found it was a mystery to the vampire who removed herself from the lead jeep to walk beside her. Flanking the blond-haired teenager were Agents Jin and Williams, both having a blank stare on their faces but it was plain to see that they were somewhat relieved to see so many allies. The rest of the resistance group that had hit the broadcasting station remained in their jeeps, nervously awaiting new orders.

One man stepped forward from the various groups training their weapons on the newcomers. He was dressed in urban-camouflage clothing, the symbol for the United Nations on his right chest. He was obviously from the middle-eastern area, with his skin tone and black hair. He carried an assault rifle in his hands as he cautiously approached the group. He looked the group over before his eyes went to the small group that was still waiting at the jeeps. Finally he asked, an Middle-Eastern accent obvious in his voice. "Are you members of Hellsing?"

Alice stepped in front of her guards, the English flag in her hands. "I am Alice Hellsing, the twenty-forth generation leader of the Hellsing organization and one of the three heads of the English resistance forces. To whom am I speaking?"

The man looked at her in confusion before seeing the no nonsense look on the teenager's face. "You're a little young, aren't you?" He asked in disbelief.

Without hesitation in the slightest, the girl removed her rapier and had it pointed at the man's throat, oblivious to the numerous raising and aiming of weapons in her direction from the gathered forces. The man didn't even flinch at the threatening gesture, though it was easy to see that he was rather uncomfortable in his current situation. "I have no time for games. We requested aid, so you either are going to help us or not. We do not have the time to waste so don't ever ask a stupid question like that again." Then with another quick fluid movement, the blade was back in its sheath, much to the relief of the soldier standing in front of the teenage girl.

"... Major Ahmed Rahmani, United Nations Peacekeeping force, eleventh battalion. We've been told to expect you and your people from those who met our forces here. I shall escort you to where the plans are being made."

"My apologies Major Rahmani. It's been a rough decade and I never had time to learn politeness." Alice remarked in a bored tone as she gestured for her bodyguards to follow. Within moments the girl was once again flanked in front and behind, Williams and Jin throwing glares at the gathered soldiers who still watched the group warily. Seras made no motion either way, except for a small smirk on her face as she held her sunglasses in place in front of her eyes with her hand.

The man merely looked at the young girl before shrugging. "This whole situation is unbelievable. At least from what we have heard from our superiors. I should have expected something like this."

"How many friggin people did you bring? We never expected a force of this size, let alone support at all." Seras asked, drawing the man's attention.

"... I do not know the exact numbers. The U.N sent a vast amount of armed peacekeepers to this country due to your request. However, several other countries such as the American Empire sent numerous men, armored vehicles, and aircraft to assist." He paused for a moment before saying, "I can say this. There hasn't been a deployment of this scale since the last World War. The leaders of the world are taking this threat that your people have described to us very seriously."

Alice only looked between the Major and her own people before saying to Seras, "Victoria, if we survive this, remind me to have someone teach me some history because I have no clue what he's talking about."

"Noted Lady Hellsing." Seras said with a slight chuckle at the expression of disbelief on the Major's face.

-

It wasn't long before the small group met with the ranking members of the U.N. Forces, as well as the supplemental forces that were assisting the United Nations in this operation. Major Rahmani led them to a large tent where several people in different style uniforms from the men outside were discussing something as they looked over a series of maps. The group noticed them and Alice couldn't help but smile slightly as the wizened older man that she had accepted as an uncle or surrogate grandfather looked up and smiled before wiping a tear from his eye as if proud. He abandoned the table before walking up to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Well done child. Your parents would have been proud."

She only smiled, "Thank you Christopher. I take it you have begun explaining the situation?"

He nodded before gesturing towards the large table where the maps were spread out. "This way Lady Hellsing." Alice followed and was met with looks of disbelief from the men who looked to be ranking officers.

"Christopher, where are the rest of our forces?" She immediately asked, ignoring the looks of confusion as to why a child was there.

The old man answered her question without looking at her, "Those from the resistance that were supposed to be here are at the Eastern edge of the staging area." He looked as if he was about to go on but the girl turned towards her bodyguards and spoke first.

"Agent Williams. Tell Agent Griphten and the rest of our group to head to the Eastern edge to meet up with the rest of our forces." The man nodded before giving a small bow and leaving. She turned back to Christopher and asked, "Where are Coyote's men? The Vatican?"

Christopher was about to speak but a voice cut him off. "Slow down there little princess. You should at least introduce yourself to the nice people here to pull our asses out of the fire." Alice looked up from the map to see Wildcard standing off to the side, a grin on his face as he continued to flip a coin between his fingers. "After all, they are being kind enough to give us enough firepower to shove up Lysandra's undead asshole."

She sighed. "As you wish." She then looked to the other men that were still looking at her as if she shouldn't be there. "Forgive me for my rudeness. I am Alice Hellsing, the current leader of the Hellsing organization and one of the heads of the English resistance movement. Agent Xavier Flynn and Father Matthew Perigrin were dispatched beyond the rift on my orders."

There was a moment of silence before a gentleman with graying hair spoke. "You're... the leader of this... resistance?" His voice betrayed his confusion and disbelief.

Alice looked the man over before answering. He was wearing a dark green uniform, each shoulder marked with several stars and a symbol she did not recognize was worn on his right chest. "I was already asked that question by Major Rahmani. Do not ask again for it is a waste of time." She then glared at Wildcard before asking in an annoyed voice, "Didn't you tell them all this?"

He only shrugged before putting the coin back in his pocket. "Didn't seem important at the time." He smirked before adding, "Caught your speech on the plane trip. You have quite a way with words Lady Hellsing."

"A mere child..." The same man repeated, his face marked with an expression that clearly showed his displeasure at the concept.

Alice only glared at the man before saying one word. "Victoria." A instant later Seras was holding a knife against the man's throat, causing him to pale and the others around him to take a step back. Some reached for their weapons before Alice said, "That's enough, the point has been made." Seras withdrew the knife before walking back around to be at Alice's side. "We don't have time for this nonsense. Yes, I'm only a teenager. Yes, you're obviously older and more experienced in life than me. However, I've been fighting vampires for the last ten years. I have lived in this hell, praying for my survival since I was but a baby. I have walked the streets littered with dead, stepping over the corpses of those of my friends and family. I have seen things that would drive many of you to madness, so don't you dare infer that I am not capable. Do we have an understanding?"

A long pause before the man nodded. "Yes. I am Brigadier General Micheal Clarke from the United States."

Alice gave the man a confused look. "The United...what?"

Seras spoke up next, correcting the girl's confusion. "The American Empire, Lady Hellsing." Seras ignored the way the man seemed to bristle at that comment, Christopher shooting the vampire a warning glare. She ignored both, _They're the only country to call themselves that in the last sixty years to my knowledge..._

They went around the group, introducing themselves as Generals from various countries, or the United Nations itself. Finally Alice turned to Christopher again and asked, "Where are Coyote's and the Vatican's forces?"

Christopher pointed at the map, his finger landing on the Western edge of England. "This is where we are, near the outskirts of what used to Bristol. When Father Perigrin landed here, he took half of his men and several groups of outside soldiers North towards Worcester. He believes that he is capable of overwhelming the freak base there before moving East. Coyote is similarly at the Northern edge of the continent as planned and is heading South with his own forces."

The girl nodded before turning back to the generals gathered there. "Just from this staging area its apparent that you brought more forces than we ever dreamed of. Are they all at this location or are they also invading from other areas as well?"

The general from the American Empire spoke first. "We have U.S. Navy destroyers off the Eastern coast of England, peppering the bases we know of with artillery fire as we land troops," his finger pointed to the map and moved as he spoke, "Here, here, and here. We also have several transport planes inbound, arriving at drop off points at York, Exeter, and Manchester."

The coordinator from the United Nations then spoke, "We are landing peacekeepers all along England's southern coast. Last we heard, we actually had London cornered off as well but we've been waiting for more information before heading it."

The others then spoke of their various entrance points and missions, ranging from special ops teams from Germany to the transport planes bringing in medical supplies from France and other European nations. Alice was thoroughly impressed but didn't say anything about it. _No need to let them get big heads now, considering there are going to be a massive amount of deaths before the night is over._ Christopher broke her out of her musings with a smile on his face, "We've also been receiving scattered reports all night since the rift came down about people rising up and rebelling against Lysandra's forces."

"Seems you're quite the little motivator, little princess." Wildcard said with a grin on his face.

"Shut up Agent Flynn. If you're bored, go join the rest of our forces at the Eastern edge and make yourself useful instead of irritating me." Alice retorted, shooting the man a glare for good measure. The man merely shrugged his shoulders before leaving the tent.

Seras was staring at the map silently for some time, ignoring what was being discussed before she finally asked, "Who is leading the attack into London?"

Alice shot back without hesitation. "That is our duty. We have fought for far too long to let someone else have the head of Lysandra. Besides, you're probably the only one capable of killing her."

Seras nodded reluctantly before looking up at the gathered leaders and asked in a tone that almost dared them to challenge it. "Are we in agreement?"

The leader from the United Nations hesitated for a bit before saying, "We have already surrounded London. It would be quicker if we were the ones to attack."

Alice shook her head, "That place is no longer London. It's a devil's nest, and you don't really know what you're up against."

The General scowled at that before saying, "We were informed by your people and have brought weapons capable of killing those monsters."

Alice was about to speak but Seras cut her off. "It doesn't matter. You could kill every freak that resides in London and it still wouldn't be enough." Seras pulled off her glasses and placed them on the table, revealing her blood red eyes to those who had not seen them before. "From what I can gather, Lorenz is no longer a subservient pureblood. That makes two free purebloods in the same city, against us. I have no doubts that I can kill Lorenz without much difficulty but Lysandra has far more experience in the dark arts than I. Who the hell knows what kind of dark magic she could use to wipe out your men in a matter of moments..."

A man spoke up, a leader of a German special operations group that identified themselves to the resistance leaders as Kommando Spezialkräfte, the German version of the SAS. "You're..." He voice halted for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "We were informed that all our enemies had red eyes."

Alice nodded. "Your assumptions are correct. Seras Victoria is a pureblood vampire who has worked alongside the Hellsing organization, hunting down and exterminating vampires for over a century. She is our trump card, and probably the only one capable of killing the elder vampire."

There was a long awkward silence at the table before Seras grabbed her sunglasses. "Christopher, is there any plasma left?" She asked in an annoyed voice.

"Several packets actually. They're with the rest of our supplies on the eastern edge of this area."

She nodded before turning to Alice. "Lady Hellsing, if you do not require my services, I will be heading back."

The teenager only nodded in understanding. "We should be moving out shortly, commandeering one of the U.N.'s planes that they parked here. The assault force will consist of our people and several battalions from the American Empire, in addition to the forces already stationed on the outskirts of London."

"Understood. Until then." Seras said with a slight bow of her head before turning and literally walking into shadow before vanishing.

-

It was a long time before Seras was called for. She found herself overlooking the forces gathered with a detached air as she drank a blood packet that had been freshly donated by some of the resistance people. She sucked up the liquid of life through the small straw as if it were a soft drink, her eyes never leaving the men and women below her in the small hillside. The wind held the smell of death as it blew through the night, it's temperature dropping down as if sent from above to test the woman's resolve in her watch. Not that it mattered, considering she hadn't felt cold in a long time, or anything for that matter.

_Master, is this the correct path?_ She couldn't help but smirk at her own thought, as if being chided from beyond the abyss. _Actually, you would've had me hunt Lysandra down while bleeding from my wound. You would have never let yourself be caged solely by your own emotions. I suppose that is one way I'll never surpass you, not that I plan on having that chance. _She coughed a few times, removing the straw from her mouth to do so before replacing it. _The beast within is growing faster than we ever anticipated. I only hope I can hold it back long enough. At least it won't be much longer._

She finished the packet before crumbling it up and throwing it over her shoulder before laying back against the snowy fields, feeling the moisture of the snow soak the back of her shirt. Her hand was laced behind her head as she stared up towards the sky, idly noticing constellations that she had not seen for a decade. _Perhaps I am just like those stars. Unexplainable light for as long as it travels, until it finally reaches its destination._ She relaxed her eyes for a moment before detecting someone's approach. The person was still a good distance from Seras, but she noticed it regardless. She didn't bother to move much though, only opening her eyes and waiting for her guest to arrive.

Finally a few minutes later, Seras turned her head to look at her guest. Standing to her side about five feet away was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties, with short brown hair, dressed in the garb of the United Nations. She looked hesitant before asking, "Are you Seras Victoria?" Her voice was soft and melodic, as it would be better suited for singing soft love ballads rather than used to issue orders. _French perhaps?_

Seras only smirked before returning her gaze to the sky. "You already know, hence why you're here. Isn't that right?" The woman didn't quite seem to know how to react to Seras words but Seras only waited a moment longer before answering her original question. "Yes, thats me. What do you need?"

The woman seemed to straighten slightly before saying, "The brass are requesting you join them before the London attack teams heads out."

Seras nodded in understanding before tilting her head to look at the woman. _So full of life..._ "What is your name?" Seras asked, her voice quiet.

The woman was surprised by the question but answered none the less, snapping to attention as well. "Major Sophie Durand, United Nations Peacekeeping forces, twenty-third battalion."

Seras smiled at the long introduction before sitting up and rising to her feet. She brushed some of the excess moisture off her backside before reaching into her shirt pocket and withdrawing her sunglasses. She placed them on but allowed them to fall down to the brim of her nose so she could look the woman in the eyes. "How old are you child?" She asked as the two began walking back to the basecamp.

The woman looked at Seras as if she were an idiot. "Child? I'm twenty-eight, about six or so years your senior miss."

Seras chuckled at the woman's words before casually mentioning, "I'm not sure what day it is but I'll be turning 185 in January." The woman froze at her words, causing the vampire to chuckle slightly before continuing, "Yeah, I'm a vampire. We stop aging when we are turned." The woman seemed to fidget in place, as if now unsure of if she should remain near what they had been sent to England to hunt down and destroy. Seras finally spoke again, turning away from the woman and looking towards the sky. "So young... Do you have any children Major Durand?"

"... Twins, one boy and one girl. They'll be turning six in a few months." The woman responded evenly, her gaze locked on Seras as the two began walking again.

Seras nodded, noting the maternal affection in the woman's voice, as well as the harsh edge that seemed like a warning. _Parental instinct... something I'll never really be able to experience I suppose. Did Alucard feel somewhat like that way about me? Sometimes I wonder..._ "I'm jealous."

That was something the French woman had not been expecting. They had been briefed that vampires were soulless creatures that thought of humans as nothing more than cattle, or at least thats what their superiors had handed down to them courtesy of the two men who brought the request for aid to the floor of the United Nations. This woman standing before her seemed as human as Sophie herself, only with an undercurrent of sadness flowing through every one of her actions. "What for? Do you have children of your own?"

Seras shook her head before staring into the night sky as they continued to walk. "Vampires aren't like humans, despite what you may have heard. Sure we talk, think, and sleep like anyone else, but we aren't human in most respects. Vampires lose the ability to truly reproduce once they've been turned. Even what we call 'turning', which is basically a person's birth into vampirism, isn't true birth, more like snatching someone's mind from the hands of death and imprisoning it into a shell." She sighed for a moment before closing her eyes, "Female vampires can't get pregnant and don't give birth to baby vampires."

"What about before...?" The woman asked, her voice betraying her curiosity.

Seras only shook her head, "Only virgins can be turned. Hence, no I've never had any children. Hell, I've never even had sex." There was a long period of silence where the two kept their thoughts to themselves before Seras asked suddenly. "Do you love your children?"

The woman glared at Seras, as if no longer afraid of what the woman was. "Of course."

Seras only smiled enigmatically at that before pushing the sunglasses back up to cover her eyes. "Then I hope you survive what is to come. When this is all over, I hope you return home and hug your children tight and never let them go. Do this for me, someone who never had the chance to mother children, nor ever will receive that chance." With those final words, Seras willed the darkness to surround her and she phased back to the camp, leaving a confused woman soldier at the top of the hill.

-

Alice finally let out a sigh of relief as she sunk into the passenger seat of their jeep, weariness sapping her strength. _God I'm tired... only a bit longer mother, father. _Christopher only gave the girl a sympathetic glance before closing the jeep's door and walking around to the driver's side. He quietly got in the driver's seat and started the vehicle, his eyes glancing around the gathered soldiers.

The rest of the strategy session had gone well, at least in Christopher's opinion. The biggest hurdle had been getting the military leaders to accept the leader of the Hellsing organization but after that things had fallen into place rather quickly. He let out a sigh of relief as he shifted the car into second gear and began heading towards where the rest of the organization was waiting for orders. He spoke softly, "Are you tired Lady Hellsing?"

Alice didn't bother to open her eyes but only answered just as softly, "There's no one here Christopher, you don't need to call me by that title."

He spared her a look of slight amusement before giving a small nod, the old man's lips twisted upwards slightly. "As you wish Alice. Please rest when we arrive, we won't be moving out for another hour or so."

Alice only opened her eyes and look at him, "I can't. The men can't see me like this. It's not good for morale."

A chuckle from the backseat started both humans. "We are well beyond worrying about those kinds of issues now child."

Alice forgot her weariness as she spun in her seat and glared at the vampire. "Damn it Victoria, don't do that!"

Seras couldn't help but chuckle slightly, remembering her father's similar reaction. "So what did you need me for?"

Alice only turned back to face ahead, fuming slightly but kept her anger out of her voice. "We're heading out in approximately two hours. We're taking the full might of the resistance here along with somewhere between five and ten battalions from the Empire. We're joining up with the U.N outside of London. From there..."

"We finish this." Seras concluded, the declaration silencing the vehicle's riders.

There were a few moments of silence before Christopher added. "We've also received word that the Fallen Priest has changed his plans and meet us en route to London. He will be running behind though."

Alice spoke next, not moving her eyes from the view outside. "We have no time to wait for him and his men. They'll just have to catch up."

"We act as the vanguard while his people will become the second wave." Seras concluded with a hint of amusement. She then noticed the tiredness in the girl's mind and muscles before reaching forward and placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Rest now child."

"What are you do-" Alice tried to ask before she felt the effects of the vampire's spell. Within moments the girl was drowsing peacefully. Seras only let out a small smile at the sight before pushing her glasses back up. _Forgive me child, but you need this._

"She going to hate you when she wakes up you realize." Christopher said with a light chuckle.

Seras only placed her hand behind her head and looked upwards towards the stars. "You say that as if I should actually be worried about it." There was a pause before Seras decided to add something. "She can't come with us."

The old man lost his smirk but looked back at the woman in his rear-view mirror. "I know."

"She isn't going to like it."

"I know."

"How do you plan to inform her?"

"..."

"I see, leave it to me then." Seras then closed her eyes, allowing her mind to drift aimlessly while the jeep bounced on the rough terrain. The conversation was over, and she knew what was to come. _Please forgive me child, but I cannot allow you to die just yet._

-

_I'm going to kill her..._ Alice fumed as she glared at the vampire who merely watched her with an even stare behind those damn sunglasses of hers. _Where the hell did she get those anyway?_ The thought was one produced from a tired mind, and easily shaken off. Alice turned away from her blood sucking comrade to watch as her soldiers, _my soldiers... How odd that I think like that..._, entered into the transport planes that had been lent to the Hellsing organization.

She was broken out of her musings when a member of one of the supporting groups from the American Empire approached and saluted her. "Ma'am, all of our forces are ready. We're awaiting orders for takeoff."

"Good." Alice replied, not bothering to return the salute, knowing full well that the man would probably see it as mocking. She turned to Seras and asked, "Are we ready yet?"

Seras was silent for a moment before raising her hand to her ear, covering outside noise to listen in our her ear-piece. "Agents Griphten, Williams, and Flynn are reporting that they are ready. With your permission, I must head to the last plane."

"We are heading over now." She turned back to the unfamiliar soldier and said, "Make sure the transports' radios can talk to each other. I will lead the attack."

The man was about to leave when Seras spoke behind her. "No. I will lead it, you will remain here 'General'." Seras said with no emotion, as if holding something back.

"Don't you dare give me orders bloodsucker. This nonsense will be finished by human hands." Alice turned her head over her shoulder and glared at the vampire. It was a challenge, and that glare within itself could probably cull a person's blood. _A shame I don't really have any of my own,_ Seras thought idly.

"Human hands yes, but not yours." She answered as if bored. "You are destined for great things young Hellsing but this is not your day to rise." Seras said as she slowly began reaching out towards the young woman.

"Don't you dare..." Alice cried venomously, taking a few steps back. "I've been waiting for this day for a decade Victoria. I won't let you take this from me."

Seras only smiled sadly before withdrawing her hand. The teenage let out a sigh of relief at the gesture, figuring she had won the argument. However in an instant Seras was no longer there and Alice felt a hand on her shoulder from behind. She only heard one thing before passing out from the magic running into her body. "Forgive me little princess but this is the way it has to be."

As the girl's body gave out on her, Seras caught the girl's body gently with her arm. She turned to the solider and gestured with her head for the man to take the girl. "Bring her to the command tent. Tell the planes to begin taking off."

The soldier looked between the teenage leader of the resistance forces and the vampire before giving a hesitant nod. "As you wish." Seras only turned away from the two and shifted into the shadows, causing the man to blink twice before shaking his head and shifting the girl's body in his arms before heading back to do as requested.

It wasn't long before Seras reformed outside the last transport plane. Jin was waiting for her, leaning against the plane with his sword at his waist. His head was looking down and his eyes were closed but as Seras appeared before him he lifted it. He opened his eyes and looked at her before giving her a questioning expression.

Seras only withdrew her sunglasses and placed them on her face. "Change of plans. The little princess isn't coming with us." Her voice was laden with some sort of emotion, one that neither the vampire nor the Asian man could identify. After a few moments of his staring, Jin only inclined his head in a nod before pushing off the plane's side and walking towards the plane's hatch. Seras followed after him, stopping at the plane's hatch and sending a glance over her shoulder. _Thus ends my service to the Hellsing Institution... Be strong daughter of Hellsing and one day show the world just how honorable your family is._

-

Darkness is something that isn't not really tangible. It's something more, or perhaps less, or perhaps a little of both. Darkness is merely the opposite side of the same coin that light inhabits, and people tend to forget that. Light became the side of the coin associated all with that is good, pure and just. After all, very few people are scared of the light, though one wonders if that is because people have already made such conclusions in their minds about it.

Darkness has always been given the short end of the stick, so to speak. Those people who associate with the darkness in all hours of the night have constantly been looked down upon within a society, just because they shy away from the light for whatever reason. In turn, where light became the symbol of goodness, purity and justice, darkness came to be associated with evil, corruption, and deterioration.

London, a city that once upon a time was looked to for inspiration, joy and national pride for the people of England. A city that for the last ten years has been covered in the darkness that the bloody countess controlled. A city that has been more or less void of human life since the raising of the rift.

A city whose foundations were to experience a battle the likes of which no human or vampire had ever seen before.

Seras only looked at her former city from a distance, as if not noticing anything in particular about it, yet absorbing everything. How the buildings had collapsed, the roads had fallen into disrepair, street signs overturned and bent into awkward angles, the list went on. "A shame..."

Xavier Flynn only nodded in agreement, having seen what had become of England's greatest city many times before. He withdrew a cigarette and lit it before adding his two cents. "Yeah... the city of the royal family, now home to freaks and demons."

Seras raised an eyebrow at the man's tone. It was wistful, full of regret which somewhat surprised her. She gestured for a cigarette which Xavier help her with. He lit his last cigarette for her before tossing the pack over his shoulder. She gave him a nod before turning her head back to look at London. "It doesn't even really look like a city anymore. More like ruins. Ruins of a city where humans once walked in the night without any fear of the undead."

Flynn only nodded in understanding. There was a long period of silence between the two during which neither said anything. They were content to just finish off their cancer sticks in each other's company, one idly wondering what was the come, the other fully realizing that this would probably be the last time the two would truly speak.

After a long period of time, Fylnn's radio went off, breaking the odd silence between the two. He pulled it off his belt and answered the call. "Wildcard here. What is it?" Seras only half listened to the exchange, still staring at London. She couldn't see Buckingham Palace beyond what remained of the city but she could feel Lysandra waiting, like a cobra ready to strike. She looked back to Wildcard as he lowered his radio. "They're prepared to begin shelling."

Seras only closed her eyes. She removed what remained of the cigarette and dropped it to the ground, stomping it out more out of habit than anything else. "Give them the orders." She gave London one more glance before the words left her mouth, the words that the resistance had been waiting for ever since the rift opened up. "When the shelling ends, we finish this where it started. We retake London tonight."

* * *

I had originally planned to have this chapter go until Seras and the Resistance confront Lysandra, but then I realized that it would lead to the last chapter not being that long. So in turn, I decided if I was going to have one chapter run long, it would be the final one. 

My job search is picking up agian, I'll be gone for a few days next week completely and over the course of the next few weeks I'll be traveling, having interviews, along with my normal class load so as bad as the length of time this update took, the next one might be even worse. Though, odds are that I will post both the final chapter and the epilogue at the same time. I look forward to marking this story with the 'complete' tag.


	34. Final Chapter

I'm posting the final chapter and the epilogue at the same time. I'll leave all my author notes until the end of the epilogue. Be warned, this chapter is the longest I have ever written for a single installment. It is at least double the usual size of one of my installments, so be prepared.

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* * *

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**Final Chapter: When All Hope Has Faded**

_"Duty is heavy as a mountain but death is lighter than a feather."_

The rage was all encompassing. He had not felt such anger for at least a decade, and ironically the root cause for both was the same. "I don't care!" He bellowed at the cowering subordinate in front of him. "The shelling will stop when they send their dogs in to die! Get the rest of our forces to the ramparts and keep them at bay." The man growled under his breath as he stared at the map in front of him, resisting the urge to rub his eyepatch, knowing full well what was irritating it.

"Our scouts report that they've surrounded the city. It's a large number milord. I honestly don't believe we have the capability to hold them at bay. Some WILL break through." The man said as he fidgeted, knowing full well the price of displeasing his superiors, especially this man. "It may become necessary to evacuate the Queen."

"They are only human you worthless Freak. We will not bother Mistress Lysandra with such problems; they are beneath her! You and your men are vampires, albeit worthless ones. Humans are nothing to our kind. Kill them all!" Lorenz barked loudly, drawing the attention from the other vampires in the command center. Shortly after his outburst, the echoes of explosions from outside faded. "The shelling has ended. Get your worthless hides to the barricades and hold your ground you worthless maggots!"

Lorenz then turned on his heel, letting his rage simmer as he walked into shadow. _Damn that little English bitch and her rabble of an army._ He reappeared from the shadows in a completely different location, a darker room with a regal looking chair at its back. He walked further into the room and went down on one knee, "My Master."

The throne was resting comfortably within the dark shadows. At one point a purple flame-lit torch would have been lit to give the room some degree of light, albeit a very creepy and disturbing one. However, since earlier that evening the torch had gone dark. Not that it really mattered to either of the room's occupants, as they both were capable of seeing in the blackest of darkness. The floating dark artifact was beside the unlit torch, a dull light being released from within it, as if promising the one who looked upon it dark secrets that no mortal should ever know.

"Report Lorenz. Those dull booms are disrupting my evening music and meal." It was only at this point that Lorenz raised his eyes to notice the young woman sitting in Lysandra's arms. Her eyes were glassy and it was if she was sleeping with her eyes open, a common response when weak minded humans were exposed to a pure blood vampire's mental influence. The haunting sounds of classical music also filled the throne room, _Bach this evening is it?_ The thought was idle and he shook it free of his head before responding.

"Forgive me my Master. Some bothersome insects are causing some trouble. Please do not concern yourself with them."

She brushed the black hair out from in front of her face to glare at her subordinate, an amused smile on her face. "Insects..."

"Mere humans. It seems that silly girl has brought her little resistance force here to die."

She only gave him a measured look before her smile faded and her eyes narrowed. "Do you think me stupid Lorenz? This band of humans is far from being 'little'. Did you not see that girl's broadcast?"

Lorenz gave a look that showed his lack of comprehension of what his former Master was talking of. She only scowled at him and then gestured with her left hand, pointing a small remote at the large monitor to the side of the throne room. As she pushed the button, the screen was filled with the sight of the heir of the Hellsing family, dressed for the part for a change. Lorenz turned his head and watched in interest as the girl's speech was replayed for him. He frowned about the mentioning of the rift being down, but he had noticed the irregularity minutes after it vanished. He had been asked about it but had naturally assumed that Lysandra decided to lower it for some reason. He had never been good at guessing her intentions, so he ignored it.

He also had not seen this broadcast that he was now seeing for the first time. It was rare for the vampire population to bother with watching the newscasts for the cattle. Though now the reports of their forces being under attack all over the country made sense as he scowled at the girl's call to arms to her countrymen. He finally turned his head back to his Queen and asked. "You believe they have brought reinforcements from outside the rift?"

Lysandra only idly played with the brown hair of her 'meal'. She twirled her index finger around the woman's short locks as she answered her last true servant. "The rift is down. I felt it go down earlier but I did not understand it. That incantation was still active, so I suppose they must have found some... counter-spell that allowed them to bring it down... Without the rift, there is no reason for the rest of the world to not invade us."

Lorenz shifted his attention back to the young Hellsing maiden giving her impassioned plea. He sneered under his breath before stating, "Regardless, they are only human. If it comes down to it, I'll kill them all apart myself."

"Lorenz..." The call of his master's voice caught his attention and he bowed his head, knowing that tone. It was the tone she used when issuing orders to him. "It is not just new forces... there are members of the resistance coming. They would not sit back during their finest hour." She paused for a moment as she watched the girl in the broadcast, "This... child has grown. If I did not know any better, I'd say she was her ancestors reincarnated. Her words are those of one far older than her, yet it is easy to tell that she is reading no speech; She is merely saying her thoughts." She let out a small smile again, "It really is impressive. That ability to move the souls of those with no hope is not something to overlook my servant."

"It matters not. They are mere humans."

"Except for one. I'm surprised you haven't noticed her already Lorenz." She said with a small smirk, once again playing with her captive's limp body, tilting her head to the side in order to reveal the woman's neck.

Lorenz frowned at the mocking tone in Lysandra's voice before closing his eyes. After several minutes of dipping into his own dark power, his remaining eye snapping open in fury as his eyebrows narrowed. "That bitch..." He hissed under his breath. "She comes to her grave."

Lysandra only chuckled at her subordinate's words. "It was bound to happen. She did raze one of your blood districts, didn't she?" Lysandra held a contemplative look on her face before musing, "It's surprising she was able to hide from us for this long."

Lorenz lowered his head in shame, knowing full well that she was taking a shot of his abilities. "I have no excuses, my Master." There was a long period of silence as Lysandra raised the remote and rewound the tape of the Hellsing maiden's speech before replaying it. The girl's words once again drifted through the empty throne room.

Finally after the girl's speech finished it's second run, Lysandra's tone changed to one of coldness. "Lorenz, you will kill Seras Victoria when she shows herself on my palace grounds. Then you will deal with this rabble that is invading my doorstep. I have spent far too much time and effort to be where am I today to be attacked in my own home." She slowly ran her hand up her captive's body until her hand gently rested on the woman's neck. "Then you will hunt down and bring me the last Hellsing alive, so that I may turn her into one of my own; for she deserves a punishment that she would consider hellish." She then glared at Lorenz, fire in her crimson eyes. "If you don't..." She trailed off and with a quick twist of her wrist snapped the woman's neck, killing the woman instantly. The body fell from Lysandra's lap to the ground, the woman's eyes still locked in their glassy expression.

He bowed to one knee and lowered his eyes. "I understand, my master."

Lysandra then allowed herself a sadistic smile that would've chilled any human who could've seen it. Her eyes glanced back towards the screen where the last second of the girl's speech was paused, waiting to rewind. "Wipe them out my servant. Show the world that I am not to be meddled with."

-

Seras only watched in silence as Flynn began issuing orders to the forces in the other portions of the city, her eyes once again locked on the city itself through her purple sunglasses. Flynn was busy holding on hand up to his earpiece in order to make sure he was hearing correctly, while holding a pair of binoculars in his other hand. Finally he dropped his hands and looked to Seras. "The Empire boys are heading in as we directed. We already have word that several battalions of U.N. Troops are heading in, leaving the vector to Buckingham to us."

Seras only nodded before looking to him. "Good. The cannon fodder has taken their 'bait' position. We wait thirty minutes before heading in ourselves."

Flynn frowned at her words, idly wondering if that was the only reason she wanted backup for this attack. "You think those greenhorns will last thirty minutes?"

She shrugged. "Depends on how serious they take the situation." She paused for a moment before giving him an indifferent glance. "You act as if you actually give a damn."

He looked at her evenly before sighing. "You know, I liked you a lot better when you had both your arms. You were depressing, but never this indifferent to the deaths of others."

She shrugged. "They 'are' cannon fodder. You and I both know that our forces are the true spear in this attack against Lysandra's shield." She closed her eyes before frowning and opening, "Hell with it. She already knows I'm here, we might as well go now."

Flynn only grinned before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small coin. He flipped it in the air as he spoke, "So I guess its time to raise some hell?"

Seras only grinned before snatching the coin out of the air. "Wouldn't have it any other way Xavier." She then tossed the coin up once in the air lightly before grabbing it again and whipping her arm backwards into a hard throw, sending the metal piece towards London.

Xavier frowned at that before smirking. "You know, granted that it was only a quarter, you didn't need to toss it away."

She only returned the smirk. "I was just taking my first kill of the night." She narrowed her eyes in amusement as she glared down into the city where the vampire she had been watching used to be.

He looked at her dumbfounded before it dawned on him. His eyes widened into an expression similar to the one that she had seen on many Division S trainees' faces in the past. "You're kidding right?" When she only turned away from him with a smile on her face he only began cackling like a madman as he followed after her. "Who said that life was priceless?"

The orders to move went through the resistance's ranks quickly as they prepared for battle. Numerous men and women, old and young, carrying silver blades and recently gained assault-rifles bearing silver ammunition, courtesy of their new allies from beyond English waters. Eager looks of anticipation, both for the final battle and what lay after was written across their faces, similar to those of children in a way. Seras only pushed her sunglasses up on her face to shield her eyes from them. The only ones who really knew what she was were the members of Division S, even most of the soldiers from the remains of the Hellsing institution didn't really know who she was. As they gathered for their final orders, she turned to Flynn and gave a nod. _Give them what they need to hear. They won't take orders from a blood sucker._

Xavier gave her a pout, one that one would see from a annoyed child, before turning back to the last throes of the resistance. "Like the little Princess said, we end this tonight ladies and gentleman. I can't do a victory speech that won't pale in comparison to hers, so we'll skip that. I only have on thing to say." He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. There was a moment of silence amongst the gather throng before he opened his eyes and yelled with enthusiasm not held since the pre-rift days. "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation. Amen." There was a chorus of cheers from the soldiers before Flynn let his best psycho-grin cover his face. "Move out! Don't let a single Freak survive!"

Seras couldn't help but chuckle silently to herself at Flynn's leadership role, one he must have grown into since the rift's opening. _Perhaps the man is finally growing up, then again the little princess is far more mature then him, despite being a fraction of his age. _When Flynn returned to her side, she only smirked before asking, "So what are my orders...'General' Wildcard?" Playful sarcasm was clear in her voice, as if prompting to get a rise out of the man.

He only raised an eyebrow before chuckling and asking a question that was equally sarcastic. "Does that mean you're actually going to follow my orders beautiful?"

"Not a chance."

He only smirked before tightening the silver threads wrapping around his wrist. "Figured as much." He only turned his attention back to the men moving out, waiting for the other members of Division S to make their way to his position. "Can I at least get a good luck kiss?" He asked with amusement in his eyes, his hand making its way to the small of her back.

"Only if I get to neuter you afterwards." She shot back just as amused behind her frames, nudging him in the side with her elbow. She only chuckled as his face fell in disbelief before the other members met up with them. She turned away from them to look at the remains of the city of London. _Soon it'll be over, one way or another..._

-

Seras let her mind go on autopilot as they moved deeper and deeper into the city. She watched it all as if a plate of dusty glass separated her from the rest of the action, blurring everything into odd shapes and muted sounds. Even when she would be forced to defend herself from an opportunistic fool of a Freak, she did so without really thinking about it.

Instead of paying attention to her surroundings, she allowed her mind to drift, focusing on the points of strong dark energy. It was as if they were calling to her, taunting her with their locations. She could only smirk as their forces edged closer and closer to those loci. _Be patient, I'll be there to kill you soon enough, _she thought grimly as she sent her hand through another freak's heart, not flinching in the slightest as the freak's agonized scream echoed through her mind.

Xavier turned to her during a small lull in the fighting as their small group advanced. He had a hand over his ear as he spoke to her, indicating that he was still receiving reports. "Our advance force has more or less cleared the path to the palace. They're expanding the perimeter around it, hoping to eliminate more of them before we show up."

Seras nodded. "Our enemies are within. What of Perigrin's forces? I was told they would be en-route."

Flynn nodded. "They're arriving soon, E.T.A. Thirty minutes. Seems they're going to airdrop on the palace itself." Seras only nodded before opening and closing her fist, causing her knuckles to crack softly. Finally she rotated her neck once, producing a series of loud pops. The display did nothing to faze her compatriot, having been used to her odd habits in the past. He instead looked around and frowned, "I don't know what's more depressing, that London is in such a desolate state or that I can't tell if it was because of the shelling earlier or not."

"Does it matter? The city's in for a lot worse before the night ends."

A slight pause, "I suppose." The two were silent as their unit began to regroup before Flynn yelled out, "Alright boys, let's keep moving!" As they continued moving forward, Flynn idly asked her, "I thought you were supposed to be in charge here. Why am I giving all the orders?"

"Because I don't feel like it."

"And you call me irresponsible?"

"Shut up Wildcard."

-

_And so here we are, again after ten years of darkness..._ Wildcard idly mused as their small group secured the entrance to Buckingham. It was surprisingly easy, which made everyone there quite wary of what was to come. _A trap? I don't think they would bother, but then again Lorenz has always been a sadistic bastard..._ "Radar, whats our count?"

Griphten only nodded before closing his eyes and concentrating. Although his ability and instincts had improved over the years, he still had to focus to get completely accurate counts. He twisted his mind in that familiar way, looking for dark energy as he had done so many times before.

The feedback that he received however, was unlike anything he ever felt before. He literally stumbled forward, gasping as pain raced through his mind. It was as if he had received a brutal smack across the face for searching out the energy, and it took him a moment to compose himself before he spoke in gasps. "There's... There's..."

"Deep breaths kid. Even I felt that." Seras remarked as if uninterested. "It seems that Lorenz or Lysandra detected you."

"No kidding... I've never felt such dark power before, not even from you Victoria." Griphten wheezed out, coughing a bit until Jin came up next to him and supported him. "Thanks."

The sniper only looked confused before he finally asked, "So what's the count?"

Griphten only looked back at Williams before speaking. "Impossible to get a count. There's simply too much dark energy coming from Lysandra and the Devil's bane. It flooded my mind and shattered any sort of concentration I could hold." He then grabbed his head and groaned in pain. "Fucking Christ... feels like someone cracked my skull open."

"Can you continue?" Wildcard asked seriously, turning away from Griphten to look over their small force of normal soldiers. Originally, each member of Division S was going to command a squad, with Seras and Wildcard heading towards Lysandra herself.

Griphten only grit his teeth as he held his head in one hand. "Yeah, just give me a minute to collect my senses."

"We don't have a minute kid." Seras remarked as if uninterested before raising her hand to his head. "Brace yourself, this is going to hurt real bad but you'll feel better afterwards." He only nodded once before closing his eyes. Seras mumbled some words in a dialect that none of the other people there could understand before Griphten's eyes shot open, as he groaned in immense pain. "Better?" She finally asked as she lowered her arm.

Griphten coughed a few times before nodding. "Yeah... what did you do?" He asked curiously as he shrugged out of Jin's grasp. He paused for a moment before saying, "Never mind I don't want to know." Seras only nodded, as if to say 'you're welcome.'

"Alright, enough drama. Let's get moving." Flynn said with a hint of annoyance before issuing last minute orders to the normal troops. With one quick final check of their equipment, the remnants entered the last bastion of their enemy.

-

Lysandra only watched the large screen in the palace throne room with slight interest, as it showed the views from the security cameras that Lorenz had ordered installed in the palace years ago. She had watched as the one human knelt down outside with his companions and close his eyes. A moment later she felt the clumsy scrying of someone who was not truly used to playing with dark power. _Hmm... I see, that's why they've always been to evade our slaughter groups, they knew their positions. _She only smirked before letting a tendril of her power free, eager to teach this... human a lesson when dealing with his betters. She only smiled as the security camera's display showed the man stumbling forward, only to be caught by one of his allies. _That's what you get for playing with fire little human..._

She then frowned as a one armed woman reached forward to grab the man's forehead before Lysandra felt something familiar, something she had not felt in ten years. She was confused at this, wondering who this woman was, before the small group entered the palace. She changed her view to another camera and smirked in heavy amusement, fully understanding who the woman was now. _Ah, Vlad's newest wife. She's looks surprising well, all things considered. She's still quite good at suppressing her power._

She watched as the forces were split, with Seras and some man that Lysandra didn't recognize at the head of one of the groups. Lysandra expanded her consciousness to the best of her ability where she wouldn't be detected by the younger vampire. She frowned before glaring at the woman through the monitor. _She's completed sealed it seems. This is exactly like Lorenz described his fight with her where she took his eye. She can completely hide all of her power, as if holding her breath._ Her eyes narrowed as she idly wondered if Lorenz would be strong enough to stop her. _He has grown in the past decade after becoming free of servitude, but we never truly understood how powerful this fledgling really was. She wasn't 'normal', thats f or sure. Granted the loss of her arm should prove to hinder her, but from the way she's acting... its as if it doesn't matter either way._

She then lost the frown before making a small gesture. The darkness around her hand rippled softly before the weapon she had used ten years prior to kill the supposedly strongest vampire appeared before her hand, floating in the air as if waiting for a command. Lysandra only grabbed the weapon before resting it across her lap. A thin grin covered her lips as she switched the monitor showing Lorenz waiting for his quarry, hands resting on his holsters. The irony was delicious but Lysandra only had one thought. _I hope you can entertain me fledgling._

-

"This is taking entirely too long." Seras complained as she stood beside an open doorway where gunfire was exiting, as if trying to pepper her if she came out. She turned her head to Flynn who was standing beside her with that same shit-eating grin that she remembered from him whenever he was in a battle. She narrowed her eyes before giving a nod, as if giving permission.

"Oh this is going to be good..." He cackled as he exchanged positions with her and gave a series of hand signs. The soldiers all nodded at his gestures before the man pulled out a flash grenade and pulled the pin. He held it in his hand for several seconds before lightly tossing it into the room. Almost as soon as it hit the ground, the grenade went off he dashed into the room, strings flailing, even as several of machine guns kept firing. He moved fast, like a phantom as he ghosted closer to the vampires, his strings flying out like tiny promises of doom. He finally felt some tug on some his strings and dropping to a crouch, yanking hard with his wrist as he felt his strings tighten around several vampires. He quickly ran his teeth over a few of the strands before yanking hard with his head, severing the captured vampires like cheese on a grater. "Do it now boys!" He yelled, diving behind some cover at the side of the room and pulling a grenade out of one of his pockets. He pulled the pin and threw it over his shoulder and braced himself as he heard gunfire begin again, this time the Hellsing soldiers forcing the vampires to take cover as they poured into the room and found cover in a systematic way. It didn't last too long before Flynn's grenade went off, surprising even the Hellsing soldiers.

"All clear!" Came the yell and Flynn came out from behind his cover and brushed his suit off with a sick grin on his face. _Explosions are always fun._ It was a silly thought, one that a child might think, but one that a lifetime of vampires could easily produce. After all, there was a reason why they called him Wildcard.

"You haven't changed I see." Victoria remarked with amusement written on her face. She then looked towards the far door and said, "Flynn, you're with me. Separate the rest into two squads and have them fan out. Search and destroy."

He gave her an odd look before asking, "Something you're not telling me?"

She shrugged. "Numbers won't matter with the opponents we face from now on. Merely allocating our resources better."

"So the real fights will begin soon?" He asked, cracking the knuckles on the hand that his string device was attached too. She only nodded once in response before he began cackling again. Once he regained control of himself he quickly did as Seras suggested. After the two groups had left the two alone, he turned to her and asked. "So which way? Or was that just an excuse to get me alone beautiful?"

Seras only shook her head before walking towards the door on the far side of the room. "This way idiot. It seems we're keeping them waiting."

He only tightened his glove on his armed hand and grinned. "Wouldn't want to be improper house guests now would we?"

"My sentiments exactly." With those words the two kicked the doors open and continued onwards, destroying all that lay in their path.

-

The two finally entered a room that seemed oddly familiar to Flynn. As the two walked forward slowly, it dawned on him. _Ah... this was where we ran into that pure blood woman when we were last here..._ His left hand began twitching slightly at the memory and he had to fight from reaching for the pistol he had holstered in the small of his back. His eyes shot around distrustfully, as if he could sense something 'bad' in the air.

Seras however was completely calm as she slowly came to a stop. She raised her arm to remove her purple sunglasses and place them in the pocket of the trench coat she had been given on the transport plane. "It's been a while, Lorenz Kilten." Flynn's eyes shot up at her words, before looking around to find the vampire in question.

"Indeed, Seras Victoria. I must say, despite your handicap you're looking well." The voice floated through the air with an air of detachment. Flynn then heard the distinct sounds of footsteps, as if the vampire not trying to hide his movement in the slightest.

Seras only scoffed, taking a moment to look at the man. Gone was the sophisticated image of the man she had fought ten years prior. His hair was cut shorter than before and a black-eye patch was covering the place where she had stabbed his eye out. Gone was the brown suit that held so many hidden daggers the last time they fought. Instead he now wore simpler clothing, as if not wanting to be hindered by the fabric. He was wearing a pair of denim jeans and a white t-shirt, though to his credit he did wear a black vest over the shirt. At his hips was a double holster but Seras' attention was mostly around the knives held in the small bands wrapped around his forearms. "That little shit Cisco sends his regards." It was said casually, but you could hear the amusement in her voice.

To his credit, Lorenz showed no response. There was a period of silence before he looked to her companion. "...If I remember correctly... Xavier Flynn... from the trash removal division was it?"

Wildcard only smirked as he pulled out a coin and began twirling it between his fingers. "Hit that one on the nose you prick." He then pulled out his patented psycho-grin and added, "I've been waiting for another shot at you."

Lorenz only looked at the man as if he was a child who said something naïve. "Charming..." He then turned his head back to Seras before commenting casually, "I honestly thought I'd never see you again."

She shrugged, removing her jacket to the best of her ability and throwing it at her companion who caught it with a confused expression. "I never planned to."

He then smirked before sneering, "How's your arm feeling gimp?"

Seras didn't rise to the bait but responded with a light smirk. "About the same as your eye, Cyclops." She only chuckled as he practically growled at the remark. "Get out of the way trash, our beef's not with you."

He only snarled once more before making a show of removing a pair of daggers from his forearm bands. "You are not worthy to face Lysandra in combat. I will kill you here, then drag that little English bitch's body to my master so that she can give herself a new servant. Isn't that irony delicious?"

Seras only shook her head before getting into a fighting stance, her arm extended forward. "First of all, the girl would kill herself before going with you. Second of all, you have no hope against me. I took your damn eye without trying last time we fought, remember?"

He only scoffed at her taunt, "I'm not the same man I was then. Tonight I feast on your blood!" He then dashed forward, daggers in hand. Seras only narrowed her eyes and then parried the first thrust.

"As you wish..." Flynn could barely hear those words spoken before the two literally vanished before his eyes. He looked around, trying to keep track of the two fighters before hearing something break beside him. He looked over to see the two standing there, Seras holding a dagger of Lorenz's against his throat, Lorenz holding another at her head. Seras' eyes glanced at him for a moment before turning back to her adversary and once again there was a giant clang of metal as the two vanished, once again moving faster than the human eye could follow.

"Son of a bitch." He cursed under his breath before getting out of the way as the two titans of the darkness clashed, the sounds of metal impacting in the night air as they continued their battle. Flynn took cover and stuck to the shadows but did his best to watch the battle, knowing that a chance would come soon enough.

Lorenz only smirked as the woman kept up with him, albeit only when he was using a single knife. "I see you're still at the top of your game." He remarked idly as the two exchanged knife thrusts until both clashed together again and held.

Both of their faces were void of emotion before Seras spoke, "And you're as sloppy as ever." Lorenz didn't even have time to process the statement before Seras' foot impacted against his lower jaw, sending him flying in the air. An instant later he felt something sharp stabbing into his back from behind. He gritted his teeth, refusing to make any noise of pain as he turned his flight into a back flip and landed on the ground, glaring at the woman before him. He slowly reached around to his backside and pulled out the dagger that previously had been in Seras' hand. She only smirked at the dagger that was dyed in his color before adding, "And your attacks are still far too human-like." He dropped the weapon to the ground before snarling and charging at her once again.

The look of surprise on Seras' face was priceless as he shoved the blade into her neck. She gasped out in pain, blood flowing down from the wound and her mouth as she choked out blood. Lorenz only grinned like a madman before lifting her into the air by her neck and he began to squeeze. "How do you like that bitch? I don't need to find your heart to kill you!" Much to Lorenz's shock, Seras stopped coughing and, despite being choked to death, only grinned at him. Lorenz's eyes widened as the implication set in. "Son of a-"

His words were cut off when the body he was holding literally exploded in dark energy. Unprepared for the blast, Lorenz was sent flying backwards. He was so out of it, he didn't even notice which direction he was flying, or who was there waiting for him. Seras only smirked as she drew her fist back and waited. When he was within range she punched as hard as she could, striking the vampire directly at the base of his spine. An audible crack could be heard as Lorenz's spine literally snapped in three places before his body was sent flying in another direction.

Despite the incredible pain wracking his body, this time he noticed where he was heading. He was flying straight towards that Division S agent that had come with his opponent. The man had a sick grin on his face as he flicked his wrist out, sending silver strings that would spell the end of the pure blood if he didn't react fast enough. Lorenz quickly muttered an incantation under his breath but as the strings approached he somehow knew he wouldn't be in time.

Flynn only smirked like an idiot as he yanked hard on his threads. _This is going to be soooooooo sweet!"_ His enthusiasm was dashed as the vampire quickly vanished into a portal of darkness, although the remains of the vampire's arm hit the ground, quickly turning to dust. "Tch!" Flynn hissed under his breath before looking towards Victoria. "My bad, he got away."

Seras only shook her head. "No matter. I didn't expect him to go down that easily." She then looked back to him, "Stay out of the rest of this. I can handle him."

He only shrugged and stepped back, "Whatever you say sweetheart."

Seras only turned her head away from Flynn and looked up and to her right. She only smirked as Lorenz glared down at her from above, a snarl on his face as his arm was slowly regenerating. Deciding to antagonize her opponent further, she spoke up. "Don't feel so bad, your master fell for the same trick when I fought her."

Lorenz only said nothing, silently gritting his teeth as he felt his spine slowly fix itself. _Totally unexpected... just like before. And she has backup this time. How many times am I going to underestimate her?_ There was a long period of silence before his regeneration finally completed and he hopped down from the rafters he had been perched on. "Done fixing yourself up?" Seras asked in a mocking cheerful voice that caused the vampire to see red.

"You fucking bitch... are you mocking me? You are nothing, a mere fledgling!" He bellowed, his hands reaching for his holsters. _I will not resort to my familiar to handle this bitch! Its degrading that the thought has even entered my mind!_

Seras only chuckled, "And that is why I can kill you, almighty elder." She said the last part with obvious sarcasm. Her amusement ended however when her eyes locked on the two weapons the man raised. Her jaw snapped shut and even to Flynn, who was a good distance away from the two of them, the temperature dropped to icy levels.

Lorenz only smirked at the change in her demeanor as he aimed his weapons at her. "Nothing to say little girl? No smart-ass comments?" He only chuckled before yelling out, "Die now you pathetic excuse for a vampire!" He pulled the triggers on the two guns exactly once.

He never had enough time to do more than that.

As soon as the bullets left the barrel of the guns, Seras had already vanished and was right in front of him. With a single movement, she brought her hand up, her index and middle finger extended and crackling with dark blue energy while the others were folded in, and thrust them into Lorenz's damaged eye-socket with as much force as she could. The eye patch offered no protection as he fingers sunk deep into the man's face. The look on her face said only one thing, and even to Flynn it was unsettling. _Die._

The man bellowed in pain as he dropped one of the weapons to raise his right hand to his eye. He tried to glare at her and raise the other weapon but once again she dashed forward and aimed another thrust, this time towards the good eye, with sickeningly familiar results. Before the man could even scream she continued her attack, knocking the gun out of his hand before grabbing him by the neck and crushing the bone there. She then tossed him away, his body slamming into the ground with enough speed to break the tiles where he landed before bouncing away several meters.

Her world only existed as white hot fury as she glared at the vampire as the bone in his neck began to heal. He groaned in unimaginable pain, both hands covering the area where his eyes used to be. She only slowly walked towards him, her face masking the total and all consuming anger that seemed to rush through her body even more that any blood lust she had ever felt before. "You have no right to even look at those weapons, let alone touch them!" She said in a tone colder than ice.

_My pride be damned! I will kill this woman!_ Lorenz's mind chanted as his body began to coalesce into the shadows, distorting his form as he indulged in his familiar's power. Even then, it turned out to still be not enough. Seras only snarled at his attempts to shift forms before reaching forward again, her hand once again crackling with dark power as she grabbed his shifted neck and twisted, snapping his neck again. His shift halted and his body reverted instantly. _What? That's not possible!_

Seras only glared at the vampire who was now openly showing his fear and pain. "Nothing is impossible. Your familiar can't save you now, you little shit."

Flynn would later reflect on this battle between the two pure bloods with much distaste. As much as he hated Lorenz, he was stunned silent and motionless as Seras literally began to tear him apart, over and over again. Each time waiting for his body to regenerate before once again tearing his limbs off, stabbing through chest as if probing for his heart. Finally after she apparently grew tired of dismembering the man, Seras only grabbed him by the neck before lifting upwards.

Lorenz couldn't see the eyes of the woman who had spent the last twenty minutes tearing him limb from limb but he could somehow sense the blank expression on her face. "You still think far too high of yourself, Lorenz Kilten. I was originally just going to kill you and spare you the humiliation, but after you dared to soil my master's legacy you better believe me that I'm going to drain every drop of blood from you."

He struggled to speak but eventually was able to choke out a question. "How can a fledgling be so strong?"

Seras didn't hesitate in the slightest as she answered before biting into his neck. "Ask you master when you see her in hell."

Xavier couldn't help but feel ill to his stomach as he watched his comrade drain someone. He was sure she had done it before, but it was the first time he ever saw it. The sight of Seras Victoria sucking someone dry caused his mouth to feel like it was filled with cotton.

After what seemed like an eternity, Lorenz's body went slack before collapsing into dust. Flynn merely waited, idly wondering if he would have to kill her before they made it to Lysandra. After what seemed like a long time, Seras' body visibly twitched and she coughed several times before reaching up and wiping her forearm along her mouth, wiping away the residual blood from her victim. Flynn then blinked as enough dark power began to swirl around her that it was actually visible to his eyes, whipping around her and sending dust everywhere, as if a small typhoon with her at its eye. The dark power eventually faded, before collapsing into her form. She held her hand up in the air and he watched in morbid curiosity as she seemed to form a small blade out of the air before allowing it to vanish once again. She then turned and slowly began walking towards the two pistols that had been dropped by Lorenz during her attacks.

"Victoria?" Flynn questioned, still a good distance from the woman. He watched in disturbed silence as she bent down to where one of the weapons lay, caressing its barrel as if it were a baby's head. She slowly picked it up before walking over to where the other one was. She placed the one she was carrying down next to its partner before slowly dropping to her knees as if lost in thought. Somehow sensing that she didn't want to be interrupted at the moment, Xavier merely cast his eyes towards the dust where Lorenz's corpse, or rather his dust, rested, the clothing he had been wearing scattered around the dust pile. Seeing the twin holster, he only smirked before slowly walking over and grabbing it before bringing it to Seras. He held it out for her but said nothing, waiting for her to snap out of her musings.

She didn't look at him as she spoke, sensing he was waiting for her. "The Cassul and Jackal. Water's greatest creations... My master's weapons." She intoned softly, as if remembering better times. "13 mm pistols, each weighing over fifteen kilograms..."

Xavier let out a low whistle. He had seen the masterpieces before, but never knew how heavy they were. "Damn... that's like a damn cannon."

She only smirked before letting out a small chuckle. "No... the cannon was left in the Hellsing manor a long time ago." She paused for a moment before lifting the large black gun and examining it. "I never thought I would see these again."

He only smirked. "Here. Take it." He said, dropping the holster onto her shoulder. "You may only be able to use one of them at a time now, but you might as well bring your signature weapons into the final battle, even if you can't use them."

She only smiled in a way that he had never seen before on the woman's face. It was an odd one, as if there was something deeper behind it. "One should always go to war with their best." She then began the slow process of loading the guns into the holsters before strapping it around her own waist, a process slowed down by her lack of a second arm. Finally, once she pulled the holster tight, she gave him a look that he couldn't decipher before saying, "Let's go. The Bloody Countess is waiting for us, especially after I drained her lieutenant."

He only frowned at her expression before giving a small, imperceptible nod. _What are you hiding Draculina?_ He idly wondered as the two continued forward, deeper into the palace. He pushed the thought from his mind however, knowing full well that the upcoming battle would be the harshest either of them ever fought.

-

They traveled in silence, both hunters preoccupied with their own thoughts. Seras seemed to know exactly where she was going, which Flynn supposed was a good thing. The blank unreadable expression that was on her face as the two stopped outside the throne room door, Flynn decided as she stared at him, was a bad thing.

Finally after a long period of silence she only said, "Stay here."

He frowned at her order before he scowled at her. "Not a chance. The two of us have a better chance against her together rather than apart."

Seras only met his glare with that same unreadable expression. "You will stay here, until one of us is dead. Only then will you enter this room."

"You're both already dead Draculina, don't forget that." He yelled back at her.

She only narrowed her blood red eyes before saying in a quiet voice, "Don't make me kill you." Flynn then felt the hair on the back of his neck rise up, the age-old sixth sense of danger. She let a little of her dark power slip out and Flynn almost choked from its pressure. "Do we have an understanding?" He was barely able to nod before the pressure vanished, and he fell to his knees coughing.

"Why?" He was able to wheeze out as she slowly removed the trench coat she had placed back on after her fight with Lorenz.

She tossed it on the ground next to him before giving him a sad smile. "Because this is the way it's going to be."

"That's not an answer." He said seriously, all traces of his normal exaggerated humor gone.

She only bent down and looked him directly in the eyes. "I know. Just accept it as fate kid." She still had that sad smile on her face as she met his eyes before she leaned her head forward and kissed him lightly in the lips. "Take care of the little princess Xavier."

Finally it dawned on him. The odd behavior she had been showing since they arrived outside London, the glassy-eyed looks that she had on her face after her fight with Lorenz as she spoke of her weapons, and then the soft kiss she had just given him. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Seras..." _She can't be serious..._ "You can't do it, can you?"

She only shook her head softly, as if chastising a child. "You underestimate me. Don't forget who you're talking to. I will clean up the mess I made a decade ago."

"You don't have to do this. No one blames you." He said lightly, somehow already knowing there was nothing he could say to change her mind.

She only rose up to her full height, brushing some of her sandy hair out of her face before she spoke again, in a tone just as soft as his own. "I know kid, I know." She then gave him one last look before turning away from him as she pushed open the door with one hand. "Good bye Wildcard. Perhaps we'll meet again on the other side."

The door closed behind her with a loud bang, and he slowly rose to his feet, clutching her coat in his hand. He slowly walked over to the door and stared at it, is if willing it to give him some sort of response. He stood that way for a long time before he let out a heavy sigh before tossing the coat to the side and turning around. _If this is fate, as she says, then what shall be, shall be. Don't die in there Seras... but rest assured that should you fall tonight, I will send your killer to join you soon enough._ He then ground his teeth as he did the most difficult thing he had ever forced on himself.

He waited. And in some deep distant part of him that he lost faith in long ago, he prayed.

-

The darkness was somewhat comforting at the moment as Seras walked deeper into the throne room. The sweat symphony of classical music filtered through the air as she walked forward unafraid, her eyes closed. Finally after the current song ended its first movement, she opened her eyes and looked forward. "Welcome to my home, Seras Victoria."

Lysandra was sitting on her throne, her appearance just as Seras remembered her. The same black hair, the same superior smirk on her face and Seras' eyes narrowed at the blade resting on her lap. Seras stared at the woman for a long time, as if she was trying to figure out a puzzle before she raised an eyebrow with a smirk on her face. "Ten years and you're wearing the same red dress?"

Lysandra only chuckled lightly at the barb that the fledgling vampire tossed her way. "If I remember correctly, you've never seen Vlad in any attire except for what the first Hellsing gave him."

Seras only nodded, as if accepting her losing argument. Her eyes trailed towards the dead woman on the ground in front of the throne, her eyes still locked open in that expression of no thought present. Seras only spoke in a level tone, "Did I interrupt your dinner?"

Lysandra only waved her hand at the woman as if the corpse was merely a throw rug. "Yes, but I'm willing to forgive, for you have already brought quite of entertainment to me." Lysandra raised a remote before pointing at the large screen off to their side and pushing a button. Images of the resistance fighting around Buckingham filled the screen. Sometimes there were images of men being torn apart by gunfire or the hands of freaks. Other times there was nothing but dust in the air as the resistance forces peppered their enemies with an onslaught of silver not seen for over a decade.

Seras only nodded in understanding, oddly calm and detached for some reason. "You know why we're here."

"Of course. I must say the girl's speech was quite moving. A shame she'll die before the night is over." Lysandra waved it off, as if discussing something as menial as the weather.

Seras only let out a loud laugh before speaking cynically. "You're time here has ended Lysandra. Your servant has fallen, his pawns soon to follow. It's not just London under attack tonight elder."

Lysandra only shrugged, brushing some of her midnight black hair out of her eyes. "Perhaps. No great loss I suppose. The last hundred years or so have been quite entertaining for me."

"Entertainment?"

Lysandra let out a somewhat depressed sigh before explaining to the younger vampire. "Come now Seras Victoria, don't tell me you are as weak-minded as Lorenz. Do you honestly think I did this all to do something as trivial as take my own country?"

"..."

"I suppose that only shows the youth of your second life." Lysandra said with a small sigh. "When you live as long as your former master or I do, entertainment becomes quite elusive. I never thought this would run as long as it has, but I can honestly say that it proved far more interesting than I ever thought possible."

Seras narrowed her eyes before speaking in a measured tone, as if fighting desperately to hide her emotions behind her crimson irises. "You caused the ruination of the Hellsing institution, raised an army of fake vampires, killed Alucard, and turned England into the first layer of hell... for entertainment?"

Lysandra only let out a thin grin, a smirk that showed how little she thought of the woman speaking to her. "What better reasons child?" She only chuckled as the younger vampire lowered her eyes, her body somewhat trembling. "You would've understood if you had lived longer. Don't worry child, I'll send you to be with your master before the night ends."

There was a long period of silence before Seras spoke, her voice low and controlled but bearing a harsh iciness to it. "Alucard always used to mock me because I still had many of my human personality traits, despite crossing over the bounds of death. He used to chastise me for holding back against the vampires he trained me to kill, even our fellow pure bloods. The night you killed him he actually rebuked me for continuing to seal my power." Seras' gloved hand open and clenched shut several times at that before she continued to speak, still not looking at Lysandra.

"He used to ask me if I finally 'got it'; what it means to be a phantom of the night." She slowly raised her hand, revealing the back of the white glove to the elder vampire. A twisted archaic symbol resided there in dark black markings, glowing a soft blue as the sandy-haired woman continued to speak of her master. "After all the time I've spent walking this second life of mine, I honestly can't say I understand. Perhaps I never will, yet I am perfectly fine with that. Even he accepted my decision."

Lysandra only looked bored at the woman's soliloquy. "Is this going somewhere, Miss Victoria?"

There was a long pause before Seras raised her eyes to glare at the elder vampire. "There are many things I still do not understand, but they no longer matter. My decision is made."

Lysandra only gave an amused smirk as she watched the crippled fledgling glare at her. "And that decision is?"

Seras only closed her eyes and took a deep breath. In an incredibly soft voice she spoke, as if confirming something to herself. "My heart has become empty. It is empty because there is nothing." She then looked straight into Lysandra's piercing red eyes as she undid her seal for the last time, the glove igniting in a haze of purple flame. "That I will administer justice, in the only way I know how." She then pulled out the Jackal from her right side and held the gun at her side, yet did not raise it, as if waiting for her opponent.

Lysandra only narrowed her eyes as the dark power of the 'fledgling' in front of her swarmed her senses, if but for a moment. She slowly rose from her throne, sheathed rapier in her hand. She walked forward a few steps before she stopped in front of the fallen human that had been her planned meal. With a swift kick, the woman's corpse went flying to the side, impacting against the monitors in a sick display of gore. She slowly unsheathed the mystic blade in her possession as she measured the enemy in front of her, the last of a great legacy of pure blood vampires created by one of the first. Finally Lysandra said in a voice that held no insult, nor any respect. "So it goes."

-

_"Seras, you must move faster. Do not rely on your human senses, for you are no longer human."_

_"Yes, Alucard."_

_"Give in to your infernal nature, do not fear the bloodlust that overtakes you in times of danger and battle. All living things feel this, we only feel it stronger. It is natural, even for beings as unnatural as ourselves."_

_"... but the desire to kill has never been this strong in me before, my master."_

_"Of course not. Human 'society' brainwashes those within it to lack such desires. It makes the masses far easier to control. If you continue to act like a human, you won't get much further than one."_

_"That is a rather disturbing way to look at it, my master."_

_"... though it is true that you did once have a gentle soul. A true rarity for a human."_

_"... Will I become strong?"_

_"... That depends on you, Seras Victoria...Enough of this, back to your training."_

_"Yes, Master Alucard."_

-

Lysandra didn't even flinch as the gun was raised by the one-armed woman to fire, a smirk covering the elder vampire's face as she seemed to disappear from in front of the sandy-haired vampire. Seras only waited for a moment before swinging the Jackal sideways, the barrel of the gun impacting against the swinging rapier that had appeared to her left. The two applied substantial force to their movements, each holding the other from gaining the advantage. "Figures you'd go for my crippled side." Seras remarked idly, as if not caring for such a disrespectful tactic.

Lysandra only scoffed before sliding backwards in order to gain enough distance to dash forward again. She didn't really get the chance, due to the fact that as soon as the deadlock was released, Seras fired several times towards the elder vampire, the silver bullets forcing her back farther than she anticipated. The dark energy within the fledgling seeming to be building, similar to how it was the last time the two titans of darkness clashed. Only this time, the bloody countess was not caught off guard by it. _A shame I have to kill her before discovering why she is so powerful for one so young._ She was broken out of her musings when she felt something metal touching the back of her skull and she instinctively ducked, the shot flying through her long hair as she moved quickly. She only growled before swinging her blade backwards in an attempt to stab the fledgling who had tried to shoot her in the head from point blank range. _How insulting..._

Lysandra only frowned as the blade pierced the woman's body, causing it to explode outwards as hundreds of bats flew apart, the younger vampire escaping from what would have been a serious blow. The bats flew overhead in a swirl before splitting apart and flying downwards to reform the gun-toting vampire fledgling, no damage from the strike being present. _So she's not just a berserker..._ Seras only smiled slightly at the elder vampire's look of annoyance before Seras once again raised the Jackal to fire. Only this time, instead of firing, Lysandra cursed as Seras' form split once again, allowing for a series of doubles to all be standing next to her in the same position. "I thought I'd take a page out of your servant's book."

Lysandra only scoffed before readying herself for the attack that was sure to come. "It won't work any better for you than it did for him, or have you forgotten this technique's flaw?"

The multitude of Seras' merely shrugged as one. "Indulge this fledgling, almighty elder." The group then scattered in a flash, interweaving with each other as they charged towards Lysandra, mad grins written across all their faces. Lysandra only scoffed before sinking deeper into her stance, awaiting for the first attack. She didn't have to wait long as the closest reached her in an instant, the Jackal raised to fire. Lysandra only cut the doppleganger in front of her down before dodging the punch of another, sliding to the side with a spinning slash, taking down the clone that attacked her as well as another that was attempting to take her from behind. She saw the next attacker coming in, not being phased from the slaughter of the first three clones in slightest. Lysandra only thrust towards the clone's chest. The clone reacted by swinging the large gun in her hand to bat the thin rapier away, as if slapping away someone's hand. Lysandra felt someone behind her and allowed herself to be pulled off balance by the defending blow in order to avoid another attack towards her head.

_Interesting... She hides her energy much better than Lorenz ever did..._ Lysandra only smirked, a sliver of excitement racing down her spine as her eyes faded to black. _There you are. Enough of this foolishness._ Lysandra rotated her wrist holding her blade only once before dashing towards her target, her speed causing her to vanish from ordinary view before her attack was once again met by the steel of the Jackal's barrel as Seras once again defended herself from Lysandra's attack. Seras only grinned madly as the two once again fought for dominance. "You saw through them so quickly. Some nice eyes you've got there elder."

"Much better than you'll ever know." Lysandra shot back before applying even more force into the deadlock, a savage grin on her face, showing her enjoyment with the fight.

"Might I remind you that my dopplegangers are still present?" Seras said with a hint of amusement in her voice as her eyes flashed a deeper crimson for a moment. Her eyes flickered to her left for a moment before laughing as one of her clones grabbed the Cassul from her holster at her left side and fired towards the elder vampire. Lysandra cursed at the interference, dashing sideways, taking out a few more of the clones with ease as she avoided the bullets fired from the Jackal from the real Seras. Seras only smirked before flipping the large hand gun in the air. Her clone to her left did something similar and as one they caught the other's gun. The clone returned the empty Jackal to Seras' left holster before leaving its master behind to press the attack while Seras dashed forward, the other gun of her legendary duo ready for action.

Lysandra was barely able to twist herself out of the way of the two's attacks, already distracted by the seemingly random attacks from the various Seras clones. Lysandra was able to turn her fall into a roll, springing back to her feet as she slashed at the pair of Seras' in front of her, not caring if one was the 'real' Seras or not. The two were severed in half before Lysandra turned, flicking the remnants of fake blood from her blade as she glared back at the small group. "This is becoming boring, Seras Victoria. You were far more impressive ten years ago."

The group twitched in unison before one stepped forward, the Cassul hanging idly in her hand. "True, but it didn't work ten years before either, did it?"

"Point taken. Do you wish to continue this farce, or shall we get down to business?" Lysandra asked in a bored tone.

Seras only smirked, "The night is still young, and it shall be your last. Might as well enjoy it." Then with a simple nod of her head, the rest of the group sprung forward, aiming to take out the elder vampire once and for all.

Lysandra only scoffed before slamming her blade's tip into the ground in front of her. "Foolish." When the tip struck the ground, the clones were met by blades of shadow shooting out from the ground in front of them, tearing them to shreds before the onslaught finally ended as the last clone fell. She glared at the real Seras who was only watching with a blank look on her face, as if expecting such an attack much sooner than it had come. Lysandra only spoke softly in a dead language before the shadows beside her coalesced into a form that she sent after the fledgling in the previous battle. "Fafnir," Lysandra said in that same dead tongue, "kill this eyesore."

The shadowy draconian roared at the command, as if nothing could please it more. It beat its mighty wings once before rising off the ground a foot or two and charging the younger vampire. It's maw dripped with saliva that, though not a true physical existence, still seemed to melt into the ground where it fell, releasing small wisps of smoke as it burned through the floor as if an acid. The beast extended it's neck as it roared, its speed faster than one would think for such a beast of its size.

Seras didn't even blink however. She merely waited until the beast was closer, apparently trying to swing one of it's massive claws towards her. She ducked under the swipe and rolled to the side to avoid the accompanying tail-swipe before raising her gun to the side and without looking, firing twice. The silver impacted into the dark spirit's body, tearing it apart like a hot knife through butter. The massive beast roared in agony before it slammed into the ground, bouncing a few times before once again vanishing back into the shadows from whence it came.

Seras slowly rose back to her feet and looked back to Lysandra, an open look of interest on her face. She spoke, her voice revealing a bit of smugness behind it. "Fafnir... from Norse myth if I remember correctly..." She then chuckled for a moment before adding, "Not that is your familiar spirit's true name after all."

Lysandra scoffed, unimpressed by the woman's knowledge. "Oh, so you're familiar with my spirit's legend? What makes you think that Fafnir isn't it's true name?"

Seras only chuckled. "I may only be a fledgling compared to you, but Alucard taught me of the dark side well." She paused for a moment in her explanation before continuing, "No one but the vampire knows their familiar's true name. Many only know it on an instructive level, only remembering it when they wish to call forth their demon's power. No elder would be foolish enough to reveal the true name of their demonic servants."

Lysandra only smirked before raising the rapier once again. "Very good child. You are full of surprises, I'm surprised that fool Vlad actually took the time to teach you such things."

Seras only shrugged. "He was a crappy teacher, I picked most of it up on my own." She had a speculative look on her face before adding, "I never figured his out. Cerberus, Orphus, Fenrir... who really knows now? I suppose it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things."

Lysandra only smirked before allowing herself to ask, "And when shall we learn your familiar's name child? I've yet to see you ever call upon it, even with your fight with Lorenz."

Seras only smirked before aiming the Cassul and replying, "You'll find out soon enough." The verbal exchange between the two quickly became one of a different sort as Seras emptied the rest of the gun's already fading clip towards the elder vampire. Lysandra only scoffed at the lackluster attack, her speed easily allowing her to avoid gunfire from that distance. She decided that enough was enough and vanished from Seras' sight before reforming from the shadows in front of the younger vampire. Her strike was on target, brutal, and fatal.

Seras coughed up blood as the she remained standing, idly wondering how Lysandra had bested her so easily. The mystic mithril blade was run through her chest, breaking through her back to the air on the other side. The blood ran down from her lips to her chin, where it continued down her neck until it reached the top of her shirt. The front of the shirt itself was bleeding heavily, tainting the light-colored shirt into a crimson red.

Lysandra only frowned at the vampire, slightly upset at how easy it had been to pierce her. _No trick this time either..._ "That was a pathetic last attack child." She said blandly.

Seras only coughed a few more times before the Cassul fell from her hand. She slowly turned her head to look Lysandra in the eyes before letting a weak grin cross her face. "Whoever said that you were my target on that last exchange?" Lysandra only frowned at that before sensing the movement of dark energies behind her. She slowly looked over her shoulder until her eyes locked on the source of the disturbance and her eyes widened in disbelief before she snarled and twisted the blade, causing Seras to cry out in pain.

"Clever girl." The elder growled out as she turned back to face Seras. Behind the two of them lay the fallen artifact, slowly decomposing into dust from the onslaught of silver that had pierced it from the Cassul's attack. Lysandra could already feel a massive portion of her power fading, the euphoric rush of dark power she had been living with for the past decade leaving her like a bad hangover. "I severely underestimated your resolve, young pure blood. For that you have my apologies." She then twisted the blade once again in the other direction, causing the woman to cry out in agony again. Lysandra then narrowed her eyes, "But respect aside, you have caused me far too much trouble. You die now."

Seras only grit her teeth before glaring at the elder vampire and saying, "You first." It was at that moment that all of Lysandra's danger senses flared at once. Her eyes were directly to the younger vampire's hand, revealing something she did not expect. Her eyes widened in disbelief at such a reckless move from the fledgling when she was already on the edge of death once again. She didn't have long to contemplate it before the grenade in Seras' hand exploded.

_Is this child sane?_ Lysnadra wondered as she coughed up the dust that had been generated by the explosion. She had been hit by a decent amount of silver shrapnel from the blast and she hissed in pain as several of her wounds began trying to heal. She only glared at the blast sight that she had been blasted back from, waiting for the smoke to clear so she could see her opponent's condition. _That was insane, even if she had not already been run through. Then again, after a wound like that, she doesn't have much time left regardless._

The smoke soon cleared, revealing a battered and beaten Seras Victoria, crouched down on one knee. Her clothing was torn and tattered, with numerous wounds sealing shut even as blood dripped from them. The wound on her chest, if anything, had grown worse, and her shirt was now thoroughly soaked with the crimson fluid of life. A fluid, that for vampires, was even more precious to survival than water. Her hand looked in horrible condition, not surprisingly, considering she had been holding the silver grenade when it went off. It looks as if she was missing her thumb and pinky from the blast but the way she held her hand against her chest wound in a vain attempt to stop the bleed spoke the indifference to the wound that the woman felt in regards to that wound. She only met Lysandra's look of disbelief with one word.

"Ouch."

The sheer ridiculousness of the situation caused the elder vampire to laugh hysterically, as if Seras had told a wonderful joke that only the two of them would understand. Her laughter was cut short when she heard a soft voice behind her speak, sending a chill down her spine from the implications. "It's not nice to laugh at other's misfortunes."

Lysandra turned around and tried to slash at the real Seras who had somehow during the blast, generated the clone and got around the elder vampire without Lysandra realizing it. Lysandra wasn't able to bring the blade down before Seras' hand had come upwards, a blade of dark energy crackling out of her hand as she separated Lysandra's shoulder from the rest of her body. The elder vampire cried out in pain and rage as her rapier wielding arm was severed from the rest of her body in a move that was oddly poetic, considering that ten years earlier the elder had taken the younger vampire's arm in a similar fashion.

Lysandra only grit her teeth as her arm already began to reform around the immense pain she was feeling. "You bitch... that's Lorenz's ability..."

Seras only smirked, blood still trailing down from her mouth as she seemed to wobble on her feet, the blade of dark energy already beginning to vanish, the vampire no longer able to hold the energy stable as she felt her life drain out of her. "I did drain him after all. You saw me do it, didn't you."

Lysandra only growled before her arm reformed and she grabbed the younger vampire by the throat with her new arm. She brought the other back and prepared to run Seras through. "Once again, a desperate attack that accomplished nothing."

Seras only grinned as she was being choked to death. "You're still thinking too much like a human, almighty elder. That was merely to open the way for my final attack." It was at that moment that the dark energy within Seras shifted, much to the elder's bafflement. _What?_ It was then that she felt an arm pierce her back that she understood as she screamed out in pain.

Seras only coughed several times before grinning as she impaled the elder from behind, her hand crackling with dark energy unlike she had ever tried using before. Her arm didn't go through Lysandra, but for what she had planned, it didn't matter. She willed the clone she had used to attack Lysandra to dissipate and closed her eyes. _This will end everything._ "You wanted to know my demon's true name, didn't you?"

Lysandra only continued to writhe in agony as she felt Seras' hand twisting inside her body, as if trying to search for something. _Why can't I move?_ "You little whore..."

Seras ignored the insult and only increased the dark energy moving through her arm, coughing several more times from the burden, sending rivulets of blood running down her mouth as she spoke. "My familiar has no physical form elder." She could hear Lysandra's groans of agony but someone also sensed the elder vampire's confusion from the statement. "Come now, you don't think that after everything the Hellsing institution did to Alucard over the time he was imprisoned that any vampire he created would conform to 'normal' standards, do you?"

Lysandra only growled, still unable to break free of Seras' arm. "What the hell are you doing to me?"

"Do you know the story of Legion?" Seras asked in a conversational tone, as if the life fading from her meant absolutely nothing as she continued to direct an immense amount of dark energy from her being into the elder vampire's chest. _I can already feel it beginning to take effect... Well, either way I knew this 'container' wouldn't last through the night._

Lysandra only grit her teeth before closing her eyes and willing all of her power into trying to break whatever hold the younger vampire had over her body at the moment. She detected the unnatural dark energy flowing into her but couldn't understand what it was doing. _Legion... a man possessed by a multitude of demons from the new testament..._ It was only then that Lysandra understood. "So... that's... why you sealed... your power?" She ground out, still trying to break free of the mystic hold on her.

Seras only nodded, although Lysandra couldn't see it, she felt it. "I am Legion. And every soul taken by the Legion, becomes part of the Legion's power. A little unknown fact left out of Christian scripture, but that is why I'm far more powerful than any 'fledgling' you could ever imagine, and why I had no intentions of surviving through tonight."

"What?" _She absorbed dark power from every vampire she's killed! By all that is unholy, how many vampires has she killed to reach this level?_

"Do you know what happens when you fill a glass with water and then freeze it?" Seras said in a soft tone, once again breaking out into whooping coughs. She fell to her knees and Lysandra's body couldn't help but follow the one holding her from behind. It was as if Lysandra's body was being controlled by Seras' energy. Seras finally recovered from her coughing long enough to finish. "A container has a set limit for how much it can hold. Once that limit is surpassed, the container will shatter under the pressure."

Lysandra only bit her lip before focusing all of her dark power into the hand that was still moving around inside her back. "You... would go so far... for these... for these humans?"

Seras only let out a weak laugh, her voice already failing her. "For the humans? No... this is for me. Our time has ended, even if I killed you in the normal way, without at least another century to build up my 'containers' limit, I would still die." Seras then let out a small triumphant smile as she found what she had been looking for. _Target locked on. This is it, my last move. This better work..._ "So long bloody countess. We'll meet again in hell."

Seras then narrowed her eyes and focused all of her dark power into once concentrated point. _Let your emotions build. All your love, all your hate, all your pain, all your sadness, all your joy! End this now!_ The dark energy spiked within Seras' body before traveling up her arm before shooting out Seras hand directly into Lysandra's black heart. "Circuit... completed..." Seras was able to say softly as it happened.

Lysandra only screamed out louder than anyone could possibly image in agony unlike she had ever felt, even through her undead life. _This... this bitch... actually found my heart!_ It seemed as if her entire body was on fire as she continued to scream in absolute agony.

Then it passed suddenly and Lysandra opened her eyes and found that she could see nothing, nor hear nothing. It was as if she had been surrounded by soundproof glass, everything being distorted slightly to her eyes. She realized she was able to move her body slightly, so she twisted her head to look over her shoulder to see that Seras had withdrawn her arm from her body. That didn't really register though through the strange haze Lysandra was experiencing. All she really noticed was the smirk of victory on the fledgling's face.

It would turn out that it would be the last thing she ever saw before her body collapsed into dust, her tattered red dress covering the ground where she had once lay. After openly terrorizing the inhabitants of England for over a decade, the bloody countess finally died, for good this time.

-

Seras fell backwards onto her back as she watched the elder vampire collapse into dust. _I did it master. I finally avenged us..._ She then felt her body beginning to lose feeling and found herself coughing harshly, even as her head began to swim from the onslaught of dark energy rushing back into her body. _It seems she fed my inner beast too well... I don't have much time left..._

Oddly enough, she felt no pain, which surprised her. _I always thought dying would cause me more pain... Then again when I 'died' the first time it was rather... euphoric._ She then coughed once more before smirking slightly, ignoring the taste of her own blood as it slid back into her mouth between her lips. _Though that was probably because master was gentle with me._ She could feel the tears of blood running down from her eyes as she stared at the darkened ceiling of the room, eventually meeting her lips where she unconsciously licked them, savoring the taste of her own blood.

She finally closed her eyes at the soothing taste, swallowing her last tastes of blood before thinking. _I'm coming, my master. I will be at your side soon enough._

-

Flynn only bit his lip in frustration before speaking out once more. "We wait." He then glared at the Catholic in front of him, as if daring him to try and order Flynn down again. The few other members of Division S that were present stood at his side, having arrived much earlier than any of those from Iscariot, and fully supported Flynn's decision in the matter.

Perigrin merely fumed as he tightened his grip on his blade. _Sentimental fools! She is a vampire, a carrion to be wiped away. We can take both of them at the same time!_ "Are you daft you protestant dog? Do you not feel that dark power that those doors cannot even hope to block out? Your damned huntress has released her seals; that means the battle has been joined. Why are we not assisting her?"

Griphten only scoffed at the Catholic and his fellow Iscariots before muttering, "Assist my ass. You mean kill two birds with one stone." Wildcard had explained the situation to them when they had arrived. Although Griphten himself didn't truly understand Flynn's motives, when the other members of Division S accepted them and even went as far as to agree with him, he had no choice but to stand with them. Not that he minded, as he could feel that dark energy more than even the Iscariots who were now trying to gain entrance to the final battleground. _That's enough power to level England itself. Did we really have such a powerful weapon ten years ago? Or is her power combining with Lysandra's to create that massive flood?_

The tense standoff between the two rival organizations ended when Griphten stumbled forward, a backlash of dark energy almost knocking him off his feet. The oriental swordsman instantly grabbed him with one arm but Griphten stood up just as quickly. _The hell? It's... it's gone?_ His eyes widened in disbelief and then horror when he realized he couldn't detect either vampire now. He turned his head to the de-facto leader of the shadow division of the Royal Protestant Knights and said, "Xavier, we need to go. Now. Draculina's..."

Flynn gave him a measured look but only nodded after seeing the man's horrified expression. "Looks like it's time." He then turned and exchanged a stare with Father Perigrin and said, "We end this now." The priest merely nodded, glad that they were finally past personal grudges and now going to do what needed to be done.

As the leader of Division S kicked the door open, the Iscariot gave his holy blade a small kiss before mumbling under his breath, "Protect us from evil, almighty father."

The group had been expecting Lysandra standing firm, the Devil's Bane still within her grasp and waiting for them, perhaps with Victoria's corpse prepared so as to mock them. Some expected Seras to be standing there, that cocky smile on her face as she stood triumphant over the dust of the elder vampire. They all expected massive destruction from the clash between the two pure bloods; it almost went hand in hand with battles with the undead.

None of them ever expected the scene they found. The little damage to the actual structure of the room was surprising enough, but Perigrin dropped his blade in disbelief at the sight of Seras Victoria, the trump card of the Hellsing organization and the resistance, lying on her back covered in blood. Her eyes were closed in what looked peacefully, but the blood gushing from the wound on her chest seemed to banish the notion that she was merely resting. _She's dying..._

Flynn cursed under his breath before yelling, "Seras!" He dashed to her form and gently shook her shoulder. "Fuck!" He cursed before tearing her shirt open to look at the bloody wound, no longer caring about her modesty in the face of what looked like her death. _Right in the chest... why the fuck isn't it healing?_ He thought frantically as he unbuttoned his own shirt and attempted to do a makeshift bandage. He looked over his shoulder at his companions and yelled, "She's hurt, bad. We need to stop her bleeding." The rest of the Hellsing forces that were present were at his side in an instant, someone already digging through medical packs to see if there was anything to help.

Griphten was the only man from Hellsing still standing, shock written on his face. _I've never seen her in such a state..._ It looked as if she wasn't even alive, the only prove was that her body was still solid and not dust.

She eventually groaned, bringing a sigh of relief to Fylnn as he looked to her face. She slowly opened her eyes to meet his gaze before smiling softly. "Hey kid. Mission completed." Her voice was garbled and it sounded as if she was gargling liquid as she spoke, which turned out to be the case as her head tilted to the side slightly as she hacked out a copious amount of blood.

Flynn said nothing as he saw her eyes, his words catching in his throat. Her left eye was the same blood red he had always known with her, and every vampire he had met for that matter. Her right eye however, was a shade of blue he had never seen before. It was crystalline almost, like a pure sapphire. Finally he fought down his nervousness and spoke, "Hang in there Draculina, we'll get you fixed up in no time."

She only laughed softly at his concern, that wet garbled sound invaded the laugh that at one time sent chills up most men's spines. The laugh that had once taunted numerous enemies before she wiped them from that plane of existence. "Not this time kid... not this time."

Flynn only glared at her. "Don't start spouting out shit like that Draculina. You still have a long list of people to piss off before you pass over."

She began coughing once again before closing her eyes. "You were always better than me in that regard Xavier. I leave that to you. I'm tired."

"Don't you dare be pulling that shit." Flynn growled, uncaring at the looks he was receiving from the others around them. He finally pulled up his sleeve and put his arm in front of her mouth. "Drink if you have to; you're not dying if I have anything to say about it."

Perigrin frowned before speaking, "I'll let you do no such thing, protestant dog." He pulled his blade and pointed it directly at Xavier's neck. He was instantly met by Jin's own silver blade against his own neck. Within moments, both sides had their weapons at the ready and pointing at the other, waiting for the first move.

It was Seras' broken voice that shattered the stalemate. "Stand down, you're making yourselves look like idiots." She took a shuddering breath before speaking again, her voice even softer this time. "My death is assured. Nothing is capable of stopping it, not even if I drained you dry kid."

Flynn only glared at Perigrin before turning back to Seras, the priest sheathing his blade before watching the scene with slight interest. "There's nothing that can be done?"

She only weakly shook her head. "No. My body has already lost most of its feeling and I can barely understand what you're saying. My vision is fading as well. It won't be long now." There was a silence that seemed to weigh heavy in the air before Seras spoke again, "What time is it?"

Flynn blinked at her odd choice of question, considering the circumstances. Griphten however was the first to answer, "It's dawn."

Seras weakly nodded before she spoke again. "I have a final request. Will you grant me that, Father Matthew Perigrin of Iscariot?"All eyes riveted on the holy assassin who remained impassive at the scene. Finally he gave an imperceptible nod, as if agreeing to some unspoken agreement. "I'd like to see the sun one last time." Her voice seemed to trail off at that, as if she was drifting asleep.

Without consulting any of the others, Flynn reached under her body and lifted her upwards. _She feels so light... was she always this light?_ He idly wondered as he glared at the Iscariots in his path. They stepped out of the way, following the unspoken order, allowing the man to slowly walk with his burden, not caring that vampire blood was beginning to cover his chest as he carried her like a small child. The rest of the group seemed to hesitate for a moment before, as if as one, following the two.

Griphten alone seemed to stay behind, still shocked from what was taking place. Memories of the first night he met the female executioner of the Hellsing organization flashed through his mind as he closed his eyes in silent pain as the understanding of what was taking place hit him full on. It was then that he noticed the silver gun resting on the ground, one of a set that Seras had once used to save his life. He picked up up delicately, as it were more fragile than crystal and examined it. Finally he cursed under his breath before following after his comrades.

-

It didn't take long to find the way out of the palace. The U.N. Forces had reached the operations zone when the Iscariots had shown up and had secured the area. Flynn ignored the high-ranking soliders who approached him and his men and continued past them, placing extra care to not jostle his burden. He didn't even notice the tears running down from his eyes.

They finally reached the outside world and medics were rushing towards them upon seeing someone carrying a wounded person. Flynn merely pushed past them, intent on allowing Seras her last request. _We owe her that much... I owe her that much, if not more._ He found a wall and headed towards it, taking great care to lower her to the ground so that she was in a sitting position with her back against the wall. He looked upwards to see the sunrise, the sun's color a breathtaking sight. He gentle rubbed Seras' shoulder. "Drac... Seras, wake up."

She made no movements at first, but eventually her eyes slowly fluttered open. He once again felt a gasp choke in his throat as he saw her dual-colored eyes but she didn't seem to notice. She looked towards the sun, as if truly seeing it for the first time. _Yellow... the color of hope..._ Neither of them even noticed as the rest of their comrades seemed to surround them. Finally Seras allowed herself a final smile before closing her eyes, one that reflected the innocent young woman she had been when she had been human, before whispering out. "Thank you Xavier. Take care of the little princess."

"I will." It would be the last words exchanged with the vampiric hunter of Hellsing. Shortly after she closed her eyes, he watched as from her waist up she began to turn into dust. He tried to grab her shoulders one last time but took a shuddering breath as she collapsed before he could, her clothing and the holster holding one of the giant hand guns crashing to the ground.

There was a long period of silence before someone made the first move. Xavier slowly wiped his forearm across his eyes before looking up to see Perigrin standing there with a blank look on his face. There was a moment of silence before the priest closed his eyes and made the sign of the cross. He spoke in Latin, his voice bringing a level of peace to those who heard it. "Almighty father, may you bless this tortured soul. Amen."

Flynn only looked at the man with a measure of disbelief before allowing a small smile to cross his face. "You know Father, you ain't all that bad."


	35. Epilogue

**Epilogue: Light and Darkness**

_"Four seasons come, four seasons go, all things ebb, all things flow"_

The oppressive heat of the summer morning seemed to make her feel ten times heavier than what she was used to. She was already sweating from the dark coat she wore that hung down past her knees, her formal suit within already feeling like it was trying to choke the life out of her. She idly ran a gloved hand across her forehead to wipe away the gathered sweat, brushing a few strands of blond hair out from in front of her eyes. _And to think, there were times when I was almost freezing to death and wishing for heat like this. _

She rotated her neck once, feeling somewhat satisfied as she heard several audible cracks before turning her focus back to the grounds in front of her. She looked out over the valley of grave markers and couldn't help but feel conflicting emotions. Pride in what the fallen warriors before her had accomplished, yet sadness that it had taken so many sacrifices to fulfill the wishes that they had fought for. Her hand slowly rose to grasp the cross she still bore around her neck, a gift she had been given when she was but a child, yet to this day still wore with an air of gratitude towards its creator.

She tilted her head slightly as she felt one of her companions shift his weight, as if uncomfortable being in this place of death. She only closed her eyes before turning her head forwards again before speaking softly, "Control yourself Agent Griphten. You stand before the graves of heroes. Don't disrespect them."

"Yes ma'am. My apologies." His voice was quiet, as if afraid of speaking loudly in this graveyard. His tone was blank, as if restraining his emotions. _Perhaps he is. Don't we all when we stand in this place of the past?_ She idly wondered before she opened her eyes to stare at the field before her.

"Has it really been two and a half years since we won back the night?" She asked with a hint of wonder in her voice, sounding almost nostalgic as she raised her hand from where it rested on her sheathed rapier to her head, holding her hair steady as a strong breeze blew through the English air.

The aftermath of the London assault had given the resistance everything they had needed. With the massive influx of foreign aid, consisting of military, medical, and financial help, the people of England had risen up as one to fight off their undead oppressors. With the bloody countess dead, as well as her main lieutenant, it had been surprising simple to reclaim what was once their proud empire. It was rather uplifting, even to a teenager who had all but given up hope on her countrymen, as reports came in of towns and cities being retaken from their undead enemies. Within the year, all the last bastions of the undead horde had been taken, sending the creatures of darkness into hiding, much like they had been prior to the fall of humanity. _Or rather the fall of England..._ The girl idly thought.

The death toll from that long decade had never been keep track of, the stranglehold on information that Lysandra's forces kept prevented their peasants from ever truly knowing how many of their own had been sacrificed. Even within the resistance, the death count was only known by people lamenting friends and loved ones who they had to put down, or were torn apart before their very eyes by freaks. Their foreign allies had kept track of their own, but many of those bodies had either already been destroyed completely to prevent them from becoming ghouls, or the corpses had been sent back to their respective countries.

Even the resistance had its share of death during the final months of Lysandra's reign. The man known as Coyote had been killed in a raid on a former military installation the night of Lysandra's demise. His forces, without their leader, had taken heavy casualties before flocking to the banner of the last English leader of their band of freedom fighters. The Iscariots had only stayed for a week or two after Lysandra's fall before returning to England. The Protestant lands were not their concern. Such were the thoughts of many of those who had been consigned to live and fight in the hell that was England for that long dark decade.

The Fallen Priest himself only stayed a month before informing the young Lady Hellsing that he would be leaving. Despite a deep antipathy with many of the girl's men, he held her in the highest respects for the years that he had seen her grow up in, as well as her capabilities as a leader. He only knelled before her, giving her hand a kiss like an old knight would do, before rising to his feet and leaving, yelling over his shoulder that he would try and get the Vatican to send relief aid. That aid came in less than a week, consisting of numerous priests and volunteers from around the world. The English freedom fighters never saw Father Perigrin ever again, but to this day they still thanked him for doing whatever he had to do to get the Catholic Church to aid their Protestant nation, a feat many thought unworldly.

The resistance had not been idly during the rebuilding process. They became the center of the disaster management that was England. Alice Hellsing and her soldiers went to work in so many different ways that it actually astounded those who had come from the United Nations to help. Ranging from manual labor, resowing crops, hunting down the vampiric insurgency; they were constantly busy. This did not go unnoticed by the people of England, who in turn worked with their heroes to try and rebuild their shattered nations, all the while giving their fellow English praise worthy of heroes.

Much of that praise had gone to the resistance's only remaining leader, the young woman who had moved the hearts of a nation to a war that fateful night. Although she ignored the efforts the people of England took to try and make her into a hero, she kept to the sidelines and did all she could from there. It did not prevent her from doing as she ordered her men to though, as it was a common sight during the rebuilding process to see the blond-haired youth tending the injured or assisting people tear down destroyed buildings. She had collapsed more than once from overexertion from the work she forced on herself, still claiming to this day that the original fall of England was due to her family, and as such she owes a debt to the nation she could never repay, despite what the people around her told her.

Finally after two years, accurate counts of men lost during that final night from around the nation started to form. At that time, the country was more or less still being run by the United Nations relief teams, but once the final counts were tallied, they foreigners were startled when a demand from the people for a national cemetery to honor these heroes. Alice Hellsing and the members of the resistance were at the forefront of this declaration. "Our people, our loved ones, have fought for something that no one except the people of England can truly understand. We will honor them, as they deserve the highest recognition, and god help you if you try to stop this." The words of the girl had shaken the people of the United Nations but they reluctantly redirected money from their normal operations to the rebuilding for the cemetery. The English people bore the hardships that this caused with dignity; the fallen deserved it after all. It had taken five months to complete the task, and a rather lengthy dedication ceremony had taken place a month later. It was as if the entire nation of England had showed up, and for some reason it brought tears to the eyes of everyone there.

It was in this national cemetery that the blond-haired woman was currently standing in, her eyes traveling over the hillside of gravestones, knowing full well that many held no bodies, and that the lines of grave markers extended over the hill to the other side. She stood at the front of the massive graveyard with her two companions, one hand still holding her hair as the wind bellowed, the other resting within one of the large pockets of her trench coat. As the wind died down, she lowered her hand back to the hilt of her weapon, gripping it tighter as if confirming something to herself.

A voice broke into her musings, sounding far more light-hearted than one would expect in a place of broken dreams of the past. "I don't know how you can stand that coat in this heat."

She only let her lips twist into a small smile and responded without looking at her friend and adviser. "Yet, you still wear your Division S uniform in this place." She closed her eyes before adding, "Quite strange considering you always complained about it Xavier."

Xavier Flynn merely smirked, one hand resting in his pocket while he twirled an American quarter in his other hand. "I may be a nutcase, but I know when respect needs to be given, little princess."

She frowned before looking over her left shoulder at him to glare. "You really need to stop calling me that. You are giving too many people too many ideas with that little pet title of yours."

Thomas Griphten spoke up, "The United Nations is looking for someone to govern so they can start pulling out. The people have spoken, even if no true election has been conducted, Lady Hellsing."

Flynn only nodded, "Besides, I doubt anyone else is left who would be truly capable. The Hellsing line continues, and as far as we know, none of the other noble families from the round table survived. You very well may be the last Englishwoman with the title of knight."

Alice only scoffed before turning her attention back to the graveyard in front of her, or rather the special marker in front of her. "England can shift to a democracy for all I care. We have no need for a new royal family."

Flynn only smirked as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Keep thinking that kid." He then took a drag before adding, "Well, whatever. Do what you think you should do. It's your life after all."

She only smirked before asking, "Should you really be smoking in this place Wildcard? It's disrespectful."

He only shrugged before walking forward until he was at her side, staring down at the marker before them. "It's for her anyway." He bent down and ran his fingers down the glass embedded in the ground, wiping away the dust before rising back to his full height. He took one more drag before removing the cigarette and placing on the stone marker behind the glass in the ground. He then took a step back before putting both hands back in his pockets and asking, "Now what?"

The girl didn't hesitate in her answer. "We do as the Hellsing Institution has always done. Search and Destroy." Her cerulean blue eyes seem to shine as she spoke this declaration, as if making a promise to the marker before her.

"Yes, Lady Hellsing." The two men responded in unison. It seemed as if that was all she was waiting for. She looked over the whole cemetery once more before snapping to attention and giving a salute. She didn't notice that her two companions had joined her in this motion but didn't care. With one last glance at the glass in the ground before her, she turned and began walking back to their car, her two companions following in silence.

The cigarette remained on the grave marker, some ash falling from its edge as the wind once again picked up slightly, sending the slight smoke it was giving off twirling into the air. As the ash fell, it passed the marker's inscription, something that was unique to this marker alone, along with the glass in the ground in front of it.

The ash landed on the glass and rested there for a few moments before the wind blew it away, giving an unmistakable view of what rested in the ground beneath that clear glass. Two large hand guns, one black, one chrome, their barrels pointing towards each other as if challenging each other. Sitting beneath their barrels was a pair of purple-lensed sunglasses.

The whole special grave marker had been a topic of heavy debate when it had been proposed. It was only due to the insistence of the Hellsing Institution and its members that it came to be, bearing an inscription that was fitting for the one it was for.

_This space is dedicated to Seras Victoria, daughter of England.  
Retainer of the Hellsing family.  
The last true knight of England.  
Victorious in her battle against the Bloody Countess,  
May her soul eternally rest in peace._

_

* * *

_

So this story has finally been finished..  
.  
.  
.  
.  
I'm at a loss for words. 

I started this story during my softmore year of college, around two or so years ago. It was something I wrote because I was bored and wanted to do something to distract myself from doing my actual work. I have worked on this story, both in notebooks and on my computer, as well as in my head, on and off for about that long. This has been a large endeavor for me as a writer, which to those who have actually spoken to me can tell, I'm not. But now, its finally completed, clocking in at 315 pages. I never imagined it would last that long, and its quite humbling now that I actually look at it.

The story in my mind has evolved from the original idea I came up with, and in some respects, changed drastically, shedding off its original constraints like dead skin. Since starting this story back in that cold winter in north country, I've become quite a fan of this site, and many of its authors. Some people who write on this site could become good authors, and I see it as a pleasure to read the stories within. I don't see myself as one of those people, as I detest certain aspects of my own writing style, including inconsistancy which I'm sure some of you have noticed. So it goes.

This is a final thank you to all of you who have stuck around this story from its beginning and for some reason, still enjoy it. If people like this story, then I can feel as if I've given something back to this site which has sucked so much of my reading time away. So once again, you have my thanks for reading this, and it I look forward to finally marking this story as completed.

Thank you,  
-Rurouni


End file.
